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If you Google Most Conservative Cities in the country, Phoenix and Sinless City are all but tied, with Las Vegas a notch more conservative.
I left there nearly 2 years ago due to the conservatism and when I heard Tucson was the Blue Island of the Southwest that's where I landed and a nice welcome change.
Las Vegas has a lot of maturing to do, but the city is much younger than Phoenix, and there's acceptable excuses? that it's the last big city to have an Art museum or any light rail. The Monorail, by the way, is Not Light rail as light rail suggests local usage.
I’ve never gotten the vibe that Vegas is conservative. It seems like it has republicans but that’s it’s solidly blue. Maybe conservative back in like the 50s-80s?
I’ve never gotten the vibe that Vegas is conservative. It seems like it has republicans but that’s it’s solidly blue. Maybe conservative back in like the 50s-80s?
It's a city with a huge Hispanic population, in a blue state. I don' see how it could be "conservative" as a whole.
Nevada as a whole was pretty libertarian up until the 1990s or so. For much of its history, it was a sparsely populated state full of ranchers who didn’t feel they needed government services and elected politicians who reflected that. Even the legalized gambling in the state was a reflection of its libertarian ethos.
Las Vegas and it’s metro and all it’s recent growth that makes up the majority of the state’s population has only happened since the 1990s or so. It’s always been a fast growing area, but the 1990s was when it really boomed and took off. Clark County (where Vegas is) didn’t even have 1 Million people until well into the 1990s. Las Vegas proper itself was more or less a small town until the 1970s (Vegas had 64,000 people in 1960, about 125,000 people by 1970) Hispanics didn’t make up a large portion of the state population until the 1990s (and a lot
Of Hispanics are quite conservative and vote republican, one of the reasons why Texas hasn’t become blue or even purple has a lot to do with that) A lot of its growth is from Southern California has happened during that time, and while Arizona has a reputation for being a popular spot for White conservative Californians to move to, quite a few of them moved to Nevada as well (along with Utah, Texas, Idaho, etc.).
Also, the Church of Latter Day Saints/Mormons still have a very strong presence in the Las Vegas Valley (also quite a few of them in Phoenix) and have an influence on the politics there.
And political trends usually lag behind demographic changes as well. In 2004, Nevada went 50.1 percent for Bush, while 47.8 percent went for Kerry. Clark County (where Vegas is) went majority for Kerry, but Bush still pulled 46 percent of the vote at the time. Obviously, Nevada has become more of a blue state since then, but it was somewhat of a swing state throughout the 90s.
Phoenix does feel more conservative overall, but in spite of Vegas’ image of adult fun and debauchery, the truth of its vibe is a bit more complex than that, especially the further away you get from the Strip.
Nevada as a whole was pretty libertarian up until the 1990s or so. For much of its history, it was a sparsely populated state full of ranchers who didn’t feel they needed government services and elected politicians who reflected that. Even the legalized gambling in the state was a reflection of its libertarian ethos.
Las Vegas and it’s metro and all it’s recent growth that makes up the majority of the state’s population has only happened since the 1990s or so. It’s always been a fast growing area, but the 1990s was when it really boomed and took off. Clark County (where Vegas is) didn’t even have 1 Million people until well into the 1990s. Las Vegas proper itself was more or less a small town until the 1970s (Vegas had 64,000 people in 1960, about 125,000 people by 1970) Hispanics didn’t make up a large portion of the state population until the 1990s (and a lot
Of Hispanics are quite conservative and vote republican, one of the reasons why Texas hasn’t become blue or even purple has a lot to do with that) A lot of its growth is from Southern California has happened during that time, and while Arizona has a reputation for being a popular spot for White conservative Californians to move to, quite a few of them moved to Nevada as well (along with Utah, Texas, Idaho, etc.).
Also, the Church of Latter Day Saints/Mormons still have a very strong presence in the Las Vegas Valley (also quite a few of them in Phoenix) and have an influence on the politics there.
And political trends usually lag behind demographic changes as well. In 2004, Nevada went 50.1 percent for Bush, while 47.8 percent went for Kerry. Clark County (where Vegas is) went majority for Kerry, but Bush still pulled 46 percent of the vote at the time. Obviously, Nevada has become more of a blue state since then, but it was somewhat of a swing state throughout the 90s.
Phoenix does feel more conservative overall, but in spite of Vegas’ image of adult fun and debauchery, the truth of its vibe is a bit more complex than that, especially the further away you get from the Strip.
Nevada as a whole was pretty libertarian up until the 1990s or so. For much of its history, it was a sparsely populated state full of ranchers who didn’t feel they needed government services and elected politicians who reflected that. Even the legalized gambling in the state was a reflection of its libertarian ethos.
Las Vegas and it’s metro and all it’s recent growth that makes up the majority of the state’s population has only happened since the 1990s or so. It’s always been a fast growing area, but the 1990s was when it really boomed and took off. Clark County (where Vegas is) didn’t even have 1 Million people until well into the 1990s. Las Vegas proper itself was more or less a small town until the 1970s (Vegas had 64,000 people in 1960, about 125,000 people by 1970) Hispanics didn’t make up a large portion of the state population until the 1990s (and a lot
Of Hispanics are quite conservative and vote republican, one of the reasons why Texas hasn’t become blue or even purple has a lot to do with that) A lot of its growth is from Southern California has happened during that time, and while Arizona has a reputation for being a popular spot for White conservative Californians to move to, quite a few of them moved to Nevada as well (along with Utah, Texas, Idaho, etc.).
Also, the Church of Latter Day Saints/Mormons still have a very strong presence in the Las Vegas Valley (also quite a few of them in Phoenix) and have an influence on the politics there.
And political trends usually lag behind demographic changes as well. In 2004, Nevada went 50.1 percent for Bush, while 47.8 percent went for Kerry. Clark County (where Vegas is) went majority for Kerry, but Bush still pulled 46 percent of the vote at the time. Obviously, Nevada has become more of a blue state since then, but it was somewhat of a swing state throughout the 90s.
Phoenix does feel more conservative overall, but in spite of Vegas’ image of adult fun and debauchery, the truth of its vibe is a bit more complex than that, especially the further away you get from the Strip.
Libertarianism and conservatism are NOT mutually exclusive. Most younger conservatives are not bible thumping Reagan era conservatives.
Libertarianism and conservatism are NOT mutually exclusive. Most younger conservatives are not bible thumping Reagan era conservatives.
In other news, water is wet and fire is hot, so chill out since I know there's more than one type of conservatism. Limited government intervention is a conservative principle that many of you stand by, is it not? You young conservatives are always so touchy...
My point is that Nevada was not always a blue state in the modern context. It's socially liberal in Las Vegas, yes, but for a vast part of its history, has been dominated by the more conservative factions and elected officials from the northern portion of the state, which historically held the political power in the state overall and had an effect on Las Vegas despite its far flung location away from the political power in the north in the Carson City and Reno areas. Clark County itself has always been a democratic stronghold, but the old guard to the north has held on to its power quite well.
I was also factoring in that conservatism in the Intermountain West states (like Nevada) has a strong libertarian bent in comparison to the more bible-thumping type you get in the plains and the southeast to this day. I'm not saying that Nevada is full of bible-thumping Reagan era conservatives, but various factors made the area a political bellwether, it's not totally liberal, but not totally conservative neither.
I'm sure you read the National Review, and a contributor there had a little something to say about Vegas. Not the most in-depth article, but it demonstrates how outside of the Strip, lots of conservative, churchgoing people make up a good deal of the population there:
In other news, water is wet and fire is hot, so chill out since I know there's more than one type of conservatism. Limited government intervention is a conservative principle that many of you stand by, is it not? You young conservatives are always so touchy...
My point is that Nevada was not always a blue state in the modern context. It's socially liberal in Las Vegas, yes, but for a vast part of its history, has been dominated by the more conservative factions and elected officials from the northern portion of the state, which historically held the political power in the state overall and had an effect on Las Vegas despite its far flung location away from the political power in the north in the Carson City and Reno areas. Clark County itself has always been a democratic stronghold, but the old guard to the north has held on to its power quite well.
I was also factoring in that conservatism in the Intermountain West states (like Nevada) has a strong libertarian bent in comparison to the more bible-thumping type you get in the plains and the southeast to this day. I'm not saying that Nevada is full of bible-thumping Reagan era conservatives, but various factors made the area a political bellwether, it's not totally liberal, but not totally conservative neither.
I'm sure you read the National Review, and a contributor there had a little something to say about Vegas. Not the most in-depth article, but it demonstrates how outside of the Strip, lots of conservative, churchgoing people make up a good deal of the population there:
I was just pointing out that most of the libertarian aspects of Nevada do not mean that it's less conservative, if anything they make it more conservative. Though of course, political views are not a simple liberal vs conservative spectrum. Which I think we agree on.
Though, I don't think the South/Plains states are emblematic of Reagan era conservatism either. Oklahoma for instance, has a robust medical marijuana program.
If you Google Most Conservative Cities in the country, Phoenix and Sinless City are all but tied, with Las Vegas a notch more conservative.
I left there nearly 2 years ago due to the conservatism and when I heard Tucson was the Blue Island of the Southwest that's where I landed and a nice welcome change.
Las Vegas has a lot of maturing to do, but the city is much younger than Phoenix, and there's acceptable excuses? that it's the last big city to have an Art museum or any light rail. The Monorail, by the way, is Not Light rail as light rail suggests local usage.
Blue Island is a bit of a stretch for Tucson - more likely a Purple Island with a slight tint of blue. Up until 2016, over 45% of voters in Pima County had voted for the Republican candidate for president for decades. Even in 2016, 40% voted for Trump. Albuquerque and other metro areas in New Mexico are more left-wing than Tucson.
Yes. But between LV and Phoenix, it's clearly Phoenix being the more urban one.
Nope - well known that Phoenix has a very low urban density. Well off of Las Vegas.
So Las Vegas is actually considerably more urban than Phoenix
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