Why do certain states vote more liberal/conservative?

Question

I'm from "liberal/democratic" Washington state and whenever I think of conservative republicans I think of the south. Stereo-typically I picture gun toting "rednecks" that fly American flags on their trucks and listen to country music. When I hear liberal I picture vegan hipsters living in a trendy city. I'm not talking crap about these people, I'm being honest about what I picture. I KNOW this isn't the truth. Keep in mind, although I live in a liberal state I'm in a small conservative town (ironically.) I don't like that I think this way and I'm changing it. It's just an automatic thing my brain pictures. KEEP READING. DONT GET STUCK ON THE STERETYPES PART - Im wondering WHY/how these steretypes started- Why do you think these stereotypes exist/how they got started? Why do you think some states are more liberal or conservative? These are all just for healthy discussion, not to bash certain types of people.

Answer

Of course. We need only to review the electoral college maps over the last few election cycles to see a pattern.

The why is more complicated. Liberals tend to live in cities while conservatives tend to be more rural. This packing of votes into congressional districts gives us lopsided election results, and a poor view of how individuals in various areas may actually feel.

For further context we can also look at the history of political parties post Reconstruction. If you want nightmares look up Strom Thurmond and his Southern Manifesto to see how that eventually bled into mainstream Republicanisim.

As for stereotypes, it's a fact that  Liberals tend to be more educated and more diverse in pretty much all ways. So it's easy to see rural conservatives as an ugly version of the opposite. The recent presidential election didn't do much to refute that. 👀

Answer

It might be where you were raised? I can't think of a single stereotype of who I know that wouldn't fit the majority of both sides, with the exception of gender. The majority of conservatives I know are men and the majority of liberals I know are women.

Answer

Maybe when I was younger I could have answered better. But I've traveled all over the US and met plenty conservatives that live in the city and plenty of liberals that live in the south.

Answer

For me, i was raised in a house of republicans and so i wasnt allowed to think or vote democrat in my house, and i actually didnt even know what it ment to be republican or democrat growing up, I found out more about the two when i went to college last year and i had to do an essay on immigration. My parents had me believing that they were all criminals that had to be sent back to mexico, but after doing the research and learning a lot about immigration and all that goes along with it, i dont feel that way anymore. Im more on the democratic side with it and with a lot of other issues. My take on being republican is that they are more for themselves and less about other people, which i think is funny because a lot of them claim to be christian and if you ask me i think Jesus would have been a democrat because i believe democrats care more about other people. 
bill oreily is a republican and he wrote many books and spoke about god a lot but he turned out to be a womanizer. Im not saying that all republicans are bad and all democrates are good, i believe there is a mix, but i would rather be a democrat.
 Also i believe there is strength in numbers thats why certain states are more republican or democrat because you would want to hang out with people who believe the same things you do right?

Answer

I'm from South Carolina and we are definitely Republican. We aren't completely redneck but we are a little crazy lol

Answer

Not really. I'm a liberal stuck in the middle of the south. Definitely not a hippie. Definitely not a vegan. Though I do wish I could go vegan to lose some weight.

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If you live in big cities you are exposed to more diversity and more ideologys making you more tolerant and liberal. This is apart of political socialization. That's why big cities are liberal.
If you live in small rural areas, there is less diversity etc etc.

Answer

Oh man, I'm definitely a vegan hipster living in a (wannabe) trendy city. I wouldn't exactly call San Jose trendy but it tries. I do listen to gangster rap in my down time to try to counter the stereotype though.

I'm from a very small, backwards, conservative (Tea Party fanatic) town in the mountains of CA, and even though the town is located in a blue state, it definitely aligns with the notion that rural areas tend to be largely conservative. I'd imagine that culture, history, and a lack of diversity has a large influence on a lot of this.

Answer

The extremes are so easy to picture while the more moderate of the two sides are a lot more vague and blurred. When I hear "liberal" I'll admit a certain extreme liberal comes to mind but I work with 16 democratic liberals and they're literally the kindest, sweetest, clean-cut people you'd ever know. I also have that same mental image with the South because I've never been there, but I now have friends who are from and still live in the south and they are also sweet, clean-cut, kind. There's an infinity number of possibilities to what a liberal or conservative looks or acts like that it's easier for us to gravitate toward the extremes.

Answer

Just moved out of WA and I have no idea why people keep voting liberal in that state. They are just giving dictator inslee more power to screw over everyone who isn’t his crony.

Why do certain states vote more liberal/conservative?

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