Why is Maryland such a blue state?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has large swaths of broke, uneducated whites that swing it to the right. Made the mistake of driving through King George and was inundated with confederate flags up and down the roads. Maryland only seems to have that demographic in parts of the Eastern Shore and Garrett County, which isn't enough to substantially move the needle.

also some of those people- the southern, stars and bars types were Democrats and just stayed democrats and didnt swing over during the southern strategy. Clinton, Carville etc.. they were always democrats both when night riding and now. They think the government should help them out more with no strings attached and that republicans are just advocates for rich people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Baltimore county suburbs very culturally conservatives, especially the old-timey, "hon," "crabs and Old Bay," Americana type culture “

I don’t think this is accurate

yeah these people are Dixiecrats- they are conservative and grandpa was a DEM and so are they. the immigrant workers were on govt cheese in FDR's time and so were the farmers so they stay Dem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Second most educated state in the country

Are these people all transplants?

Maryland is not exactly known for their colleges.

no sweetheart- they go away for college, and attend the T20, always have. There isnt a big state U culture, its more of a your kid is too dumb to get into princeton so they are going to carnegie mellon vibe. Its quite toxic and most of the irritating people on the DCUM college board are from MD.

[Anonymous]

States aren't blue, cities are blue. And Maryland doesn't have enough rural area to make up for the Baltimore and DC metro areas that account for much of its population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:States aren't blue, cities are blue. And Maryland doesn't have enough rural area to make up for the Baltimore and DC metro areas that account for much of its population.

Hawaii and Vermont say hello.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:States aren't blue, cities are blue. And Maryland doesn't have enough rural area to make up for the Baltimore and DC metro areas that account for much of its population.

Hawaii and Vermont say hello.

Vermont is a whole lot less lefty once you get outside Burlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You seem to incorrectly think that wealthy = republican. And maybe the 10 yachts in Annapolis are owned by republicans, but they are only 10 votes. A majority of people making over $100,000 are democrats in Maryland.

Also, Eastern shore is not "very conservative". It leans republican.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/state/maryland/party-affiliation/

Sorry, that map is of the 2020 presidential election.

My sense in Montgomery County is that people are Democrats for tribal reasons like being Ravens fans or Orioles fans. It's the hometeam. Team Blue, with all the fan swag they can get their hands on. But when you press them issue by issue they are more conservative than people realize. The typical Montgomery County voter wants lower taxes, more private sector job growth, is begrudgingly pro-marijuana legalization but hates the smell, is anti-upzoning, anti- government handout, pro-police, and doesn't want open borders. The main Democratic issue that dominates here is being pro-choice. That and just hating Trump, because he's an embarrassment and a wannabe dictator. But I think MoCo is more Larry Hogan-aligned than people realize.

A lot of your things are just not true about MoCo. Also, being against upcoming is not at all a Republican ideal. As someone that once lived in Texas, they will want to build as much as possible everywhere possible. They would happily tear down every forest and single family neighborhood if it meant they are more pro-business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:States aren't blue, cities are blue. And Maryland doesn't have enough rural area to make up for the Baltimore and DC metro areas that account for much of its population.

Hawaii and Vermont say hello.

Vermont is a whole lot less lefty once you get outside Burlington.

Not really. And neither does Massachusetts/Boston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of poor people. Democrats promise poor people things they don’t usually deliver on.

Takers vs. makers. Maryland is a very welcoming state and provides a lot of social benefits. This make it attractive to some, but not for others. I see Virginia is getting another win, in a banking acquisition. At some point, Maryland will run out of spending other people's money. Maybe this it will become more purple. Agree that Gov. Hogan, winning twice, showed that there is a middle ground to be found in this state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren’t dumb enough to fall for GOP lies?

Educated areas tend to be blue.

And Donald Trump is an affront to basic decency. Truth.

I am independent. I voted for McCain. I voted for Mitt Romney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You seem to incorrectly think that wealthy = republican. And maybe the 10 yachts in Annapolis are owned by republicans, but they are only 10 votes. A majority of people making over $100,000 are democrats in Maryland.

Also, Eastern shore is not "very conservative". It leans republican.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/state/maryland/party-affiliation/

Sorry, that map is of the 2020 presidential election.

My sense in Montgomery County is that people are Democrats for tribal reasons like being Ravens fans or Orioles fans. It's the hometeam. Team Blue, with all the fan swag they can get their hands on. But when you press them issue by issue they are more conservative than people realize. The typical Montgomery County voter wants lower taxes, more private sector job growth, is begrudgingly pro-marijuana legalization but hates the smell, is anti-upzoning, anti- government handout, pro-police, and doesn't want open borders. The main Democratic issue that dominates here is being pro-choice. That and just hating Trump, because he's an embarrassment and a wannabe dictator. But I think MoCo is more Larry Hogan-aligned than people realize.

Montgomery county is incredibly diverse. By the "typical Montgomery County voter" you mean the 12 people in your neighborhood you discussed this with.

Also, you are doing your neighbors a disservice, waving aside their affiliations with "it's the home team." I am a lifelong democrat. I voted for Larry Hogan twice for governor, not because I agree with him on much of anything, but because I don't think single party control is good for MD, and because the very progressive wing of the MD democratic party had gotten too much sway. That does not make me a conservative, or even more conservative, by any means. I'm exactly where I always was.

On the other hand, there's no way on God's little green earth I'm voting for Hogan for Senator. It's the potential swing vote between GOP and Democratic control of the Senate, and even if it wasn't, I'm not making it any easier for the GOP to ram the national agenda through congress. This has nothing to do with Trump (though he's a loathsome individual) - absent a sea change in the GOP, I can't see myself voting for a Republican for national office again. You may call that tribal, but it isn't. It's a considered decision that the GOP agenda is absolutely the wrong direction for the country - and that's not even considering the authoritarian tendencies of the GOP leadership. The GOP is led by people with whom I fundamentally disagree on virtually everything, from Trump to Vance to Cruz to Hawley to Jordan to Johnson to . . . This isn't blind allegiance to a tribe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Demographically, I would think Maryland should be a swing state or maybe fall into a D+5 category more like Virginia. What is keeping MD in the extreme partisan column, third behind Vermont and Massachusetts?

Maryland's demographics IMHO point more center-right:

- Very conservative western MD, Eastern shore, southern MD
- Baltimore county suburbs very culturally conservatives, especially the old-timey, "hon," "crabs and Old Bay," Americana type culture
- Socially conservative Black population
- Fiscally conservative new immigrant wealth in places like Potomac
- Religious conservative Latino immigrants
- Pro-Israel Jews
- pro-Business Howard County
- wealthy retirees in Calvert County
- Annapolis isn't very progressive either, lots of wealthy lawyers with yachts

So who is driving Maryland so heavily to the left?

Income in counties surrounding Washington (where most people are) derives from government spending, and government employees view government "solutions" more favorably.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has large swaths of broke, uneducated whites that swing it to the right. Made the mistake of driving through King George and was inundated with confederate flags up and down the roads. Maryland only seems to have that demographic in parts of the Eastern Shore and Garrett County, which isn't enough to substantially move the needle.

There are some trumpers in Mont. and Howard counties. The tell is that they say, "I wish we had better choices [of candidates]."

I don't need a tell. I will be voting for Trump for the third time next week - your neighbor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County is the most progressive county on the east coast.

Are we? It’s solidly blue, but I don’t see a lot of people buying into the more progressive movements. If anything, Democrats seem to be rejecting them.

This goofball attainable housing effort is just a recent example.

Seems like you're buying the hateful hype about what progressive means and that's why you're surprised

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Second most educated state in the country

Are these people all transplants?

Maryland is not exactly known for their colleges.

they are coming for DC