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Tier 1: SF Bay Area
Tier 2: Greater Seattle, DC Metro Area
Tier 3: Greater Boston, Greater LA, Twin Cities
Tier 4: Metro NYC, Chicagoland, Philadelphia
Tier 5: South Florida, Metro Detroit
Tier 6: Atlanta, Phoenix
Tier 7: Houston, Dallas
The D.C. area is probably too high on that list if you base it on the 2016 elections. Trump ran against D.C. - both D.C. Dems and D.C. Republicans. It became a D.C. thing to be against him very early on. The "Never Trump" thing was kind of a mirage in the 'provinces', but it was a real thing among D.C. area GOP-leaning people. I personally know people who voted for Hillary but had voted for Romney and McCain.
At the same time the D.C. area has few blue collar whites in comparison to most other big cities (there's no Staten Island equivalent really in this region), so that Trump-voting bloc was virtually a non-factor in this region.
If Jeb had won the GOP nomination, Hillary would probably have won the election, but the GOP vote in this particular region would likely have been notably bigger.
The D.C. area is probably too high on that list if you base it on the 2016 elections. Trump ran against D.C. - both D.C. Dems and D.C. Republicans. It became a D.C. thing to be against him very early on. The "Never Trump" thing was kind of a mirage in the 'provinces', but it was a real thing among D.C. area GOP-leaning people. I personally know people who voted for Hillary but had voted for Romney and McCain.
At the same time the D.C. area has few blue collar whites in comparison to most other big cities (there's no Staten Island equivalent really in this region), so that Trump-voting bloc was virtually a non-factor in this region.
If Jeb had won the GOP nomination, Hillary would probably have won the election, but the GOP vote in this particular region would likely have been notably bigger.
Hmm, that's interesting. Atlanta also has a comparable absence of blue collar whites- but nowhere near as high a percentage of white liberals. To me suburban DC (esp Fairfax/Montgomery/Arlington/Alexandria) feel decidedly more liberal among the white population than most of suburban NYC (save for Westchester County, NY and parts of Essex County, NJ). Possibly the DC area should be in the same boat as Greater Boston/LA/Twin cities and a notch down from Seattle.
I don't think Fairfax feels that 'white liberal' to me, certainly not to the degree I've seen in coastal California. One thing the D.C. area has, which a lot of those other cities high up on this list don't have, is a population of people connected to the military and defense contractors. I think a lot of people here have their interests entangled with the federal government one way or the other which makes for a lot of people who will reliably vote for 'mainstream' Democrats over stridently anti-government Republicans.
But on the other hand, culturally, I don't find even Arlington to have as liberal a vibe as say Santa Monica.
I don't think Fairfax feels that 'white liberal' to me, certainly not to the degree I've seen in coastal California. One thing the D.C. area has, which a lot of those other cities high up on this list don't have, is a population of people connected to the military and defense contractors. I think a lot of people here have their interests entangled with the federal government one way or the other which makes for a lot of people who will reliably vote for 'mainstream' Democrats over stridently anti-government Republicans.
But on the other hand, culturally, I don't find even Arlington to have as liberal a vibe as say Santa Monica.
This. NoVa feels Democratic, but not progressive in the way that, say, Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Brookline do
I don't think Fairfax feels that 'white liberal' to me, certainly not to the degree I've seen in coastal California. One thing the D.C. area has, which a lot of those other cities high up on this list don't have, is a population of people connected to the military and defense contractors. I think a lot of people here have their interests entangled with the federal government one way or the other which makes for a lot of people who will reliably vote for 'mainstream' Democrats over stridently anti-government Republicans.
But on the other hand, culturally, I don't find even Arlington to have as liberal a vibe as say Santa Monica.
That's a good point regarding the connection of people to the department of defense.
As far as a liberal 'vibe', how do you think Arlington compares to West LA outside of Santa Monica?
The whole metro tends to have good schools at the K-12 level and is as such family-friendly. Much of the Silicon Valley is like this.
Arlington/Alexandria seem to me about as liberal as San Mateo County, CA with people in Arlington/Alexandria focusing more on immigration issues while people in San Mateo County focusing more on environmental issues and LGBT causes.
Montgomery County, MD seems to be about as liberal as the Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County, CA), but probably less liberal than San Mateo or Marin. Fairfax County seems to be about as liberal as Contra Costa county, CA (all of this when only considering the white population).
The white community in DC always struck me as similar to the white community in Manhattan (WASP/Jewish, very liberal, but not at all the type of Green liberalism found on the west coast; DC/Manhattan liberals seem to have more focus on economic issues, immigration issues and some social issues with economic consequences such as low-income housing or gentrification).
This. NoVa feels Democratic, but not progressive in the way that, say, Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Brookline do
How would you compare the level of progressivism among the whites in DC and these inner beltway areas: Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Takoma Park, Silver Spring, and Falls Church-
to the level of progressivism among whites in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Brookline? I'm guessing the populations are comparable.
How would you compare the level of progressivism among the whites in DC and these inner beltway areas: Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Takoma Park, Silver Spring, and Falls Church-
to the level of progressivism among whites in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Brookline? I'm guessing the populations are comparable.
DC metro = lib.
Boston metro is a little more complicated. Educated, whites in Boston tend to be closer to Bay Area progressives, but the area also has a large working class white population that is more traditional labor Dem.
I don't think Fairfax feels that 'white liberal' to me, certainly not to the degree I've seen in coastal California. One thing the D.C. area has, which a lot of those other cities high up on this list don't have, is a population of people connected to the military and defense contractors. I think a lot of people here have their interests entangled with the federal government one way or the other which makes for a lot of people who will reliably vote for 'mainstream' Democrats over stridently anti-government Republicans.
But on the other hand, culturally, I don't find even Arlington to have as liberal a vibe as say Santa Monica.
Great post. Agree 100%
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