I was thinking about why California is more liberal, or at least more Democratic than Vermont. Here are a bunch of reasons that are strongly correlated with liberalism in the US.
Demographic reasons:
- California has 60 times as many people.
- Its population density is over three times higher.
- California is more urban.
- A resident of Vermont is more than two times more likely to be white than a resident of California.
- A resident of Vermont is four percentage points more likely to be a senior citizen (65 or older) than a resident of California.
Political reasons:
- Compared to 2012, Hillary Clinton received 12% more votes in California while she received 10% fewer votes in Vermont.
- This led to a decrease in Democratic two-party vote share in Vermont but an increase in California.
- A higher percentage of California voters identify as Democrats.
- The California congressional delegation is 18 percentage points more Democratic than the Vermont one.
- It kicked out Republican House members in 2018 in districts that voted for Hillary Clinton but Vermont did not kick out its Republican governor.
- From 2008 to 2016, the two party Democratic vote share increased by 4 points in California while it decreased by the almost exact same margin in Vermont. There was little change in 2012 but a lot in 2016, with the two states voting margins moving in opposite directions.
Cultural reasons:
- California has a greater GDP, which is tied to greater population.
- Like the population metric, this holds even when looking at per capita.
- There is a lot more fame and entertainment.
Is California more liberal than Vermont? This is a pretty persuasive list of arguments.