In the run up to the most contentious Presidential election in our lifetimes, I recently interviewed developers and residents in a few golf communities in Southeast. I asked if the fractious nature of the election season had spilled over into their clubhouses and onto their golf courses. I thought that with Yankees and native Southerners at such close quarters, the debates might have stretched the bounds of civility.
        But, no, my contacts said, all was quiet inside the gates of their golf communities.  Undeterred, I took a look at the political preferences in counties that surround some of the most popular golf communities in the region. After all, one must occasionally venture outside the gates of the golf community for groceries, entertainment, doctor’s appointments and the like.
        It is tempting to assume that in the South, candidates running under the banner of the Democrat party probably don’t do very well, and that has been true for decades and remains true for most areas of the region. But some cracks began to appear when, in the 2008 election, President Obama pulled off a stunning victory in North Carolina, where he garnered 49.9% of the state's vote to Senator John McCain’s 49.5%. (Mitt Romney edged the President in the Tarheel State in 2012.) Virginia tilted blue in 2008 and has remained so, barely, in the two elections since. Statewide, though, South Carolina has been consistently red since the early 1960s, and although some polls added a tinge of purple to the predictions for the state in the 2016 election, Donald Trump triumphed decisively over Hillary Clinton in this past week’s voting. With the exception of Virginia, all the Southeastern states went for Trump.
        Obviously, no voting data is collected from inside the gates of golf communities, but there is plenty of accurate data for the surrounding counties. And for those who will care about the politics just outside the gates of where they live, here are selected results from golf communities in the Southeast for the 2016 Presidential election, followed by the names of golf communities in each county.  Note that the results from Stephens County in Georgia, home to the beautiful Curahee Club, indicate that more than 8 in 10 county residents voted Republican, by far the most lopsided results we have seen.

Virginia

Albemarle County (Charlottesville)
Clinton............59%
Trump.............34%
Glenmore Country Club
Keswick Hall
Old Trail

Nelson County (Nellyford)
Trump.............49%
Clinton............45%
Wintergreen Resort

North Carolina

Henderson County (Hendersonville, Flat Rock)
Trump..............62%
Clinton.............34%
Champion Hills
Kenmure

Buncombe County (Asheville)
Clinton..............54%
Trump................40%
Cliffs at Walnut Cove
Country Club of Asheville

Brunswick County (Southport, Sunset Beach, Shallotte)
Trump.................63%
Clinton................34%

South Carolina

Horry County (Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach)
Trump.................67%
Clinton................30%
Grande Dunes
Barefoot Resort
Prestwick

Georgetown County (Georgetown, Pawleys Island)
Trump..................55%
Clinton................42%
DeBordieu Colony
Pawleys Plantation
Reserve at Pawleys
Wachesaw Plantation

Greenville County (Greenville, Travelers Rest)
Trump..................59%
Clinton................35%
Greenville Country Club
Cliffs Valley
Cliffs at Mountain Park
Pebble Creek
Green Valley

Spartanburg County (Greer, Landrum)
Trump..................63%
Clinton................33%
Thornblade
Cliffs at Glassy

Charleston County (Charleston, Mt. Pleasant)
Clinton................51%
Trump.................43%
Kiawah Island Resort
Rivertowne Country Club
Wild Dunes Resort
Charleston National
Bulls Bay

Beaufort County (Bluffton, Hilton Head, Daufuskie)
Trump...................55%
Clinton..................41%
Colleton River
Berkeley Hall
Belfair
Sea Pines Plantation

Georgia

Chatham County (Savannah, Skidaway Island)
Clinton...................56%
Trump....................41%
The Landings on Skidaway Island

Stephens County (Toccoa)
Trump....................79%
Clinton...................19%
Currahee Club

Greene County (Greensboro, Lake Oconee)
Trump....................62%
Clinton...................36%
Reynolds Lake Oconee
Cuscowilla

Florida

Manatee County (Bradenton)
Trump....................57%
Clinton...................40%
Concession
Esplanade
Palm Aire

Sarasota County (Sarasota)
Trump...................54%
Clinton.................43%
Laurel Oak
Longboat Key
Prestancia

Collier County (Naples)
Trump...................62%
Clinton..................36%
Audubon
Mediterra
Heritage Bay
Vineyards

Indian River County (Vero Beach)
Trump....................61%
Clinton...................36%
Grand Harbor
Pointe West
Orchid Island
Bent Pine

        I have published this blog for nearly 10 years, and we are going through the third Presidential election during that time. It never occurred to me to comment on an election in this space, other than to present an objective analysis of how folks voted in counties that surround some of the best golf communities in the Southeast. Surprisingly, as you will know if you receive our free monthly newsletter, some counties in deeply red states actually voted for President Obama -– twice. That kind of information might be helpful to more progressive leaning couples worried about being fish out of water in a Southern retirement community. Conservative couples should find it equally interesting.
        I am mindful that my audience probably splits roughly along party lines, and that comments about the Presidential race at a site like this might cause defections. But the 2016 election is different from all others in my lifetime, and since this site attracts about a thousand visitors each week, a decent if not decisive constituency, I am going against instinct and endorsing a candidate here. I am mindful that, by doing so, I could be down to a few hundred visitors to this site by next week.
        This is a hold-your-nose-and-vote election but we have, as many of the pundits say, “a binary choice.” Either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be the next President, and a vote for anyone else -– or no vote at all -- is a wasted protest. The personal character traits of the candidates have been well publicized, to the point of nausea, and there is nothing I can add here on that score. The negative perceptions of both of them are deserved, if un-equivalent.
        My own vote comes down to one core issue, and that is anger. Many –- maybe most -- Donald Trump supporters are angry, and where that anger falls on the scale from whining to justifiable is beside the point to me. After 68 years on this earth, observing business and life decisions, it is clear that no good decision is made in anger. A Harvard Business Review study confirmed that “angry people tend to rely on cognitive shortcuts –- easy rules of thumb –- rather than on more systematic reasoning. They’re also quick to blame individuals, rather than aspects of a situation, for problems.”
        Too true. Mr. Trump has taken advantage of and stoked that anger; he is angry too. And whether his anger is faux or for real, we cannot take the chance that anger will guide his decision making from the White House. The world is too complicated and the stakes too high for hair trigger reactions and retributive decisions.
        Mr. Trump admires strong leaders, and it is to Genghis Khan we give the last word on the subject: “An action committed in anger is an action doomed to failure.”
        There is no choice for me but to vote for Hillary Clinton and to urge others to do the same.