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VA is a solidly Conservative state, overall. The issue is those who live in NOVA (Northern VA). This has become the most populated part of the state & is heavily reliant on DC and her Federal jobs (libs know who butter their bread....). A HUGE influx of immigrants to the area has also served to bolster the ranks of the blue. Add in allies in the black communities in Richmond and the Tidewater, and you see the reason for the shift.
To view a map of the counties that vote red vs blue and you would see that VA is covered in red.
Irrelevant. The government of Virginia has been mostly controlled by the Left, and in the past year, it has been wholly controlled by the Left. Virginia is off the rails, and Lost. Splitting the state would give them hope, but I doubt they will be able to repeat that feat.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Most out of state transplants to KY are Cincinnati Republicans moving to NKY, so that reinforces the deep red status of the state. I'd guess a lot of other out of state transplants are conservatives moving from blue states due to KY's rural / traditional reputation. In contrast out of state transplants in Sun Belt states like NC, GA, or AZ clearly move those states leftward.
As for why Democrats can still win in KY more than other red states... most of the South was a Democrat stronghold pre 1960. I think in more diverse Southern states the "threat" of Blacks as a political bloc aided the movement of Whites to the GOP rather than sharing the Democrat Party with Blacks. But all people in the South were Democrats at one point and supported Blue Dog Democrat policies. In KY and WV the White population is still over 90% of the population and does not feel threatened by non White voters. So the movement away from Democrats mainly occurred in federal elections but less so at the state level.
Most conservative states are red red red in the history of elected officials. With conservative values, what causes Kentuckians to vote blue at the state level, even before the current governor. Is it a union thing?
For much of it's post Civil War history, the Democratic Party was a populist party with a conservative/moderate populist branch in the South, and liberal populist branch in the North. They were different in their local politics, but were able to unite behind populism on a national level.
Post-1960, the parties began to resort themselves on liberal/conservative lines versus populist/non-populist lines. That was mostly finished on the national level by 1995, but on the local level it took another 10 years with Arkansas, Kentucky, and West Virginia lagging behind the rest.
To bring in your union reference, in the old days, eastern Kentucky was divided between big-business coal mine owner Republicans, and Union coalminer Democrats. Nowadays, both the mine owners and the mine workers are united together in the defense of their industry. As an example, Pike County in easternmost Kentucky voted 30% Dole and 60% Clinton in 1996. 20 years later in 2016, the county voted 80% Trump, and 17% Clinton. +30% D to -63% D in 20 years. That's a huge swing.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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^ State Democrats could not afford to loose any voters. To actually be a purple state KY would need all the former coal mining union counties plus more voters in Louisville and Lexington and for NKY to at least become 50/50 counties. I think NKY vote 70/30 for Trump.
Now in Bevin v Beshear you did see a swing in BG and NKY due to active teacher's unions. IF that continues Democrats have hope. I just think that election was more about the GOP trying to due large reform to teacher pensions by burying it in an unrelated bill.
VA is a solidly Conservative state, overall. The issue is those who live in NOVA (Northern VA). This has become the most populated part of the state & is heavily reliant on DC and her Federal jobs (libs know who butter their bread....). A HUGE influx of immigrants to the area has also served to bolster the ranks of the blue. Add in allies in the black communities in Richmond and the Tidewater, and you see the reason for the shift.
To view a map of the counties that vote red vs blue and you would see that VA is covered in red.
Many of those JOBS you mention in the DC area are contractor jobs, Lobbyists, and Lawyers trying to sway federal funding........The Military is the largest Federal presence in Virginia.
The largest employer in the world is the DOD. Wanna guess who's second?
And to complain about libs Kentucky gets a lot of federal funding. A lot more than they put in. Like top five in money received. As a righty did you forget that?
Many of those JOBS you mention in the DC area are contractor jobs, Lobbyists, and Lawyers trying to sway federal funding........The Military is the largest Federal presence in Virginia.
The largest employer in the world is the DOD. Wanna guess who's second?
And to complain about libs Kentucky gets a lot of federal funding. A lot more than they put in. Like top five in money received. As a righty did you forget that?
Leftist BS and Propaganda.
DC contractor jobs are filled with people. It isn't just the guy at the top.
Lobbyists and Lawyers tend to be Leftists at heart, with just a few real American Conservatives.
You push the DOD, as if they were a version of Ford Motor Co, and like they are all in the DC area.
Nonsense.
It is irrelevant to real American Conservatives, if they get a lot of "federal funding." That money doesn't belong to the government, anyway, it belongs to the citizens, and was taken from them. American Conservatives know that the Lefties dole that out to enslave the people they give it to, after taking it from those very same people.
Many of those JOBS you mention in the DC area are contractor jobs, Lobbyists, and Lawyers trying to sway federal funding........The Military is the largest Federal presence in Virginia.
The largest employer in the world is the DOD. Wanna guess who's second?
And to complain about libs Kentucky gets a lot of federal funding. A lot more than they put in. Like top five in money received. As a righty did you forget that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRex2
Leftist BS and Propaganda.
DC contractor jobs are filled with people. It isn't just the guy at the top.
Lobbyists and Lawyers tend to be Leftists at heart, with just a few real American Conservatives.
You push the DOD, as if they were a version of Ford Motor Co, and like they are all in the DC area.
Nonsense.
It is irrelevant to real American Conservatives, if they get a lot of "federal funding." That money doesn't belong to the government, anyway, it belongs to the citizens, and was taken from them. American Conservatives know that the Lefties dole that out to enslave the people they give it to, after taking it from those very same people.
Please remember this is the KENTUCKY forum and all posts are expected to be about Kentucky. Additionally, while you may discuss Kentucky politics, this is not the Politics & Other Controversies forum, and has more stringent rules rules on civility. If you want to have a verbal slug fest you need to move this discussion to P&OC. Rudeness and name calling will not be tolerated.
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A big consideration is demographic change here is very slow compared to other states, either racially or from Liberal Whites moving in from elsewhere. That is a large factor in states like GA and NC going from red to purple. VA has a lot of federal jobs, too.
I actually think the state is shifting right. The governor's race was simply the result of the GOP governor being an unhinged stooge and that race was still 50/50. I do think it is easier for a moderate Democrat to win statewide office here than in most red states but that doesn't seem to extend to federal offices.
I think you may be right about the state trending more red at the moment. I think a lot of people see states like Georgia, North Carolina, and even Texas, Arizona, and possibly Florida shifting blue and assume that maybe this can become a general trend across the Sun Belt, but I believe the factors that are driving the shifts in those other states don't apply as well to Kentucky, Tennessee, or West Virginia.
All of those other states have some strong incentive or incentives to draw large numbers of liberal, well-educated, and wealthier people to live there, but Kentucky really doesn't. We have low taxes, and... mmm... low taxes, and... well...low taxes, I guess. And that's it. The other states that are shifting left also have that to offer, plus large corporations with lots of well-paying jobs, or upper-tier colleges and universities, or strong cultural attractions, or large migrant communities, or good health care, or various combinations of those factors... Northern liberals looking to move south don't really have that much incentive to pick Kentucky over most of those other states.
Kentucky has never been a state that welcomes change, and if anything, its determination to keep doing things the same way it's done them for decades is driving away younger, wealthier, more liberal voters. I really don't see good things in Kentucky;s demographic future.
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