With the 2024 presidential primaries beginning to ramp up, everyone will soon be talking about "red" and "blue" states. But coloring in an entire state based on the party that tends to prevail there in statewide elections obscures a lot of political diversity. In most states, there are neighborhoods, towns, and counties that hold steadfast against their neighbors and vote for the party that holds an opposing ideology to a majority of the state's residents.
Whether this means those enclaves will see the policy results they want depends on their state's circumstances. In many states, liberal areas are subject to conservative policies that apply to the state at large. In Florida, for instance, Gov. Ron DeSantis has restricted discussions of gender identity in schools and passed one of the nation's narrowest abortion restrictions—both of which affect residents of the comparatively progressive Miami and Fort Lauderdale. In Ohio, preemption laws bar cities from regulating certain state-mandated issues, meaning that liberal pockets in Columbus and Toledo are beholden to the conservative-majority gun laws and environmental policies.
Stacker compiled voter turnout data from the New York Times and statewide political ideology data from Gallup to rank states by their share of self-identifying conservatives. Ties were broken by the corresponding percentage of self-identified liberals, as able. Vote data was then used to highlight counties that voted in opposition to the statewide average ideology. (We also looked at conservative strongholds in liberal states.)
Self-described ideology, like Gallup's, is just one way to measure a person or group's politics, of course. Vote choice is another. You could also look at party affiliation, for example, and your list might look different. In many states in the South, for instance, Black voters are the majority of Democratic voters. And – looking at vote choice – there are pockets of deep blue in otherwise ruby-red states. But Black voters are far less likely than white voters to call themselves "liberal."
Some "battleground" states that split relatively evenly between conservative and liberal didn't make either list. Detailed county voter turnout data was unavailable for Virginia, Alaska, Louisiana, and Alabama. For Washington D.C., ideological data came from a study by the Pew Research Institute, rather than the Gallup data.
When looking at why an island of liberalism may exist in an otherwise heavily conservative state, there are typically a few reliable tells. Many of the counties included in this list are home to colleges or universities; this means relatively young and well-educated populations, two groups that lean liberal. The same is true for dense urban centers, which are usually home to higher concentrations of communities of color and foreign-born migrants—groups that also lean blue.
Native American communities often vote Democrat and are also often isolated within Republican-majority states; unsurprisingly, this is the case for more than a few counties included here. Even ski towns tend to transform a county into a stronghold for liberalism in otherwise conservative areas by attracting mostly upper-class, well-educated transplants as residents.
Read on to discover where liberal strongholds exist in otherwise staunchly conservative states, and what accounts for the unexpected shift from red to blue.
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#19. Texas: 20% liberal, 38% conservative (tie)
#19. New Mexico: 20% liberal, 38% conservative (tie)
- Most liberal county: Taos County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 13,121 (76.4%)
--- Total votes cast: 17,181
Taos County comprises several Hispanic and Native American communities, resulting in a staunch Democratic leaning. Additionally, the county is home to the University of New Mexico-Taos, providing a concentration of young, well-educated voters that typically results in liberal tendencies.
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3 / 20#18. North Carolina: 21% liberal, 39% conservative
- Most liberal county: Durham County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 144,364 (80.4%)
--- Total votes cast: 179,594
Durham County's more liberal leaning is possibly due to its large concentration of urban centers and universities. The county holds the cities of Durham and parts of Raleigh, as well as most of the state's most well-known institutes of higher education, including Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and Durham Technical Community College.
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4 / 20#17. Kentucky: 20% liberal, 39% conservative
- Most liberal county: Jefferson County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 228,272 (59.1%)
--- Total votes cast: 386,061
Jefferson County is the most heavily populated county in the state—it is home to more than 780,000 residents, while the next-largest, Fayette County, has less than half that count—and includes Louisville, the state's largest city. Besides a dense population, the county is also home to a heavy concentration of universities and colleges, with one college per 11 square miles.
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5 / 20#16. Georgia: 19% liberal, 39% conservative
#13. Kansas: 18% liberal, 39% conservative (tie)
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7 / 20#13. Montana: 18% liberal, 39% conservative (tie)
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8 / 20#13. North Dakota: 18% liberal, 39% conservative (tie)
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9 / 20#12. Indiana: 17% liberal, 39% conservative
- Most liberal county: Marion County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 247,772 (63.6%)
--- Total votes cast: 389,618
Marion County is home to the state's most populous city, Indianapolis, as well as several universities. This makes the region comparatively urban and young when measured against surrounding central Indiana counties. Additionally, the county is relatively more diverse than nearby majority-white areas, with a 29.6% Black population, compared to 10.2% in the state in general.
#11. Idaho: 17% liberal, 40% conservative
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11 / 20#10. Missouri: 20% liberal, 41% conservative
- Most liberal county: St. Louis
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 110,089 (82.3%)
--- Total votes cast: 133,793
Home to nearly 1 million residents, St. Louis County (not to be confused with the independent city of St. Louis, which belongs to no county) is diverse, well-educated, urban, and affluent compared to other parts of the state. Only 67.4% of the population is white alone; 25.1% is Black. The median household income is $72,562. Additionally, the county is home to a large concentration of institutes of higher education, including Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, and Maryville University.
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12 / 20#9. South Carolina: 16% liberal, 41% conservative
- Most liberal county: Allendale County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 2,714 (75.7%)
--- Total votes cast: 3,585
Though Allendale is the smallest and among the most poor and rural counties in the state, it is also one of the most politically active. Though these superlatives would usually tilt a county towards conservatism, Allendale County is also majority (72.7%) Black, and the region's lack of dependable health care, employment, and transportation has led to widespread support for Democratic initiatives like Medicaid.
#7. Arkansas: 15% liberal, 41% conservative (tie)
#7. Utah: 15% liberal, 41% conservative (tie)
- Most liberal county: Summit County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 15,244 (58.0%)
--- Total votes cast: 26,289
Summit County is the most liberal area in the state thanks mostly to the urban center of Park City, which makes up 8,576 of the county's 43,036 residents. While Park City is "staunchly liberal," other areas within the county itself lean more conservative. In the ski resort town of Park City, however, upper-class, well-educated residents have huge sway. With an average income of $91,470, Park City is the country's second-wealthiest small urban area.
#6. Oklahoma: 18% liberal, 43% conservative
#5. Tennessee: 17% liberal, 43% conservative
- Most liberal county: Shelby County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 246,105 (64.4%)
--- Total votes cast: 382,055
Shelby County has three standout qualities that place it squarely in the blue. First, it is home to a large urban center (Memphis, with a population of over 600,000). Secondly, its population is majority Black, accounting for 54.6% of residents. Finally, it contains a large concentration of colleges and universities, including the University of Memphis, Rhodes College, Remington College, and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center.
#4. South Dakota: 13% liberal, 44% conservative
#3. West Virginia: 17% liberal, 45% conservative
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19 / 20#2. Wyoming: 18% liberal, 46% conservative
- Most liberal county: Teton County
--- Democratic votes in 2020: 9,848 (67.1%)
--- Total votes cast: 14,677
While Wyoming writ large is rural and agricultural, Teton County—which contains the Jackson ski resort—is a "playground for the ultra-rich," largely accounting for its liberal leanings. Like Park City, Utah, and Blaine County, Idaho, ski towns come with wealth, and with wealth comes Democrats: the median income in Teton County is a whopping $94,498.
#1. Mississippi: 12% liberal, 50% conservative
