AUSTIN, Texas-There's no place like home. But this famous phrase will not be in Texas Gov. George W. Bush's thoughts as he clicks his heels three times and returns to Austin after a long journey down the campaign trail.
Austin is home to the Republican governor of one of the most conservative states in this year's presidential election, but few conservatives reside within these city limits.
"There is no question that Austin is the most liberal town in Texas," Austin insurance agent Scott Jordan said.
Despite the strong presence of conservatism, big business and big oil, a large pocket of liberal voters has come to call the capital city its home.
Many Austin residents said the city's diverse demographic population has helped make it a liberal capital in conservative Texas.
"There is a very curious mix here" of people, Austin resident Peter Castles said.
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With the influx of technology businesses into Austin, a new group of "techies" has flocked into the city. These new citizens, or "Richie Riches" as Austin resident Katrina O'Day likes to call them, often have acquired their wealth recently.
"A lot of the business people didn't start out that wealthy," Austin resident Mike Mcshaffry said. Unlike people who have been wealthy for a while, this group of people tends to be more liberal, Mcshaffry said.
Another liberal population known as the "hippies" also gives Austin its distinctive political flavor.
"In south Austin, there are all the little hippie people who don't make too much money," University of Texas senior Lisa Ross said.
This group, which is associated with the liberal movements of the 1960s, often advocates many social and environmental programs, an ideology that leads them into liberal, rather than conservative, camps.
Along with the "hippies" and "techies," young college students, who are on average more liberal than other members of the population, also are thrown into the political mix.
The University of Texas, located in downtown Austin, boasts the largest active Democratic student organization in Texas, said Melissa Hayward, vice president of the University Democrats there.
"This is a very liberal school," University of Texas senior Julia Mcilheran added.
Despite the large concentration of liberal voters in Austin, Green party candidate Ralph Nader, rather than Vice President Al Gore, is the candidate of choice for many voters.
"There is a big backing for Nader here that is unreal," Mcilheran said.
Because most of Texas is conservative and Bush is governor there, it is assumed that Bush easily will secure enough support to get all of Texas's votes in the Electoral College.
The mentality that Bush already has won Texas has led many Austinites to think a vote for Gore would be a wasted vote. Instead, many citizens are planning to vote for Nader in order to build up a third party in the American political system.
If Nader garners at least 5 percent of the popular vote today, the Green Party would be eligible for federal funding in the 2004 presidential election.
"The idea of throwing your vote away on a third party isn't as big of a deal here," Austin attorney Bob Schmidt said.
"It's not about this election to us," University of Texas freshman Frank Edwards said. "It is about building a movement"
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