Vermont vs. New Hampshire vs. Maine

[Mr. Illini]

One of the things I pondered today:

Why is New Hampshire so much more Republican Presidentially than its neighbors on either side?

Obviously it is still not considered a conservative state, but Vermont is one of the most liberal states in the country and Maine is up there as well. As far as I know the demographics are not very different between the three states, and yet voting patterns seem to quite literally change at the borders.

Why?

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

1.Anti-tax sentiment
2.Racist Boston suburbs

[Flake]

A significant portion of the states population lives in the Boston suburbs, which are generally conservative, and those suburbs tend to have a lot of wealthy people.

[kcguy]

Regurgitating others' comments:

1.  A measurable chuck of New Hampshire's population is suburbanites who make a point of not living in "Taxachusetts".

2.  The state's main newspaper, The Union-Leader, for years made a point of only endorsing candidates who took a no-income-or-sales-tax pledge.  And with only one local television station, the newspaper controlled a huge chunk of the news market share.

[Mr. Illini]

A significant portion of the states population lives in the Boston suburbs, which are generally conservative, and those suburbs tend to have a lot of wealthy people.

Too much of a generalization. If anything, they are generally Democrat-voting, although the northern suburbs, which would reach New Hampshire, not as much.

[hopper]

All 3 states are pretty much white as a population with very little minority population.

Vermont is one of the most liberal states because most of the population growth has been by the Canadian border recently. Maine-most of the population growth has been around the Southeast portion around the city of Portland I would guess recently. New Hampshire-other posters already went over where the population growth is happening there.

[MATTROSE94]

Its kind of ironic that New Hampshire was the most Democratic-leaning of the three states in the earlier 20th century, as it went to Woodrow Wilson twice and Franklin Roosevelt 3 times.

[Heimdal]

Its kind of ironic that New Hampshire was the most Democratic-leaning of the three states in the earlier 20th century, as it went to Woodrow Wilson twice and Franklin Roosevelt 3 times.

I think I’ve read somewhere there were far more Catholics in New Hampshire, than in Vermont and Maine.

That could maybe explain why New Hampshire was more of a Democratic state, since the divide between Catholics and Protestants was far more important in those days.

[stevekamp]

U VA Prof Michael Holt in his History of the American Whig Party described New Hampshire as the "Democratic Gibraltar" of the Nineteenth Century.  In 1916, NH and MD were the only Eastern states to vote for Woodrow Wilson, NH by all of 56 votes.

Sean Trende has noted that NH has a lot of Scots-Irish settlement that makes it "so damned contrarian."  Another possiblity is something I recall reading in the early 1980s: Libertarians were moving to NH to make it a Libertarian stronghold.

In 1988, NH was the Number 2 Bush state, but the Perot air raid cratered R suburban numbers.  Big D area now is the Dartmouth College area bordering Vermont.
 

[Indy Texas]

Big D area now is the Dartmouth College area bordering Vermont.

I have friends who went to Dartmouth. They say they didn't know any Republicans there.

Clearly it's no longer Laura Ingraham's Dartmouth.

[ElectionsGuy]

Big D area now is the Dartmouth College area bordering Vermont.

I have friends who went to Dartmouth. They say they didn't know any Republicans there.

Clearly it's no longer Laura Ingraham's Dartmouth.

Ha, I checked the precinct and it went 82% Obama in 2008.

Its the most D precinct in all of New Hampshire...

[Rockefeller GOP]

FWIW, I'd say Maine is CLEARLY less liberal than Vermont ... Very centrist state.  As others have said, population growth has a lot to do with it.  Keep in mind Vermont is by far the smallest, and there was an influx of hippies and Massachusetts/New York people over the past few decades that made the state more liberal.  I'd say most seniors in Vermont are still very much of the Rockefeller Republican ilk.

[Indy Texas]

EDIT: Vermont is also one of the least religious states, too-although it's overall political culture is still heavily influenced by its Yankee Protestant and non-Yankee Catholic heritage.

What were the main religious groups in Vermont during the colonial period? I know Massachusetts was very Puritan; did any of those people spill over into Vermont?

[TDAS04]

Vermont also has a lot of  long-time, rural and/or working-class people who vote Dem (and many of the older generation, as noted, are registered Republicans-yet still vote for the likes of Bernie Sanders). It's not just a matter of hippies and liberals from other states moving in.

EDIT: Vermont is also one of the least religious states, too-although it's overall political culture is still heavily influenced by its Yankee Protestant and non-Yankee Catholic heritage.

This is probably correct.  It seems that the in-migration of hippies is only one factor for Vermont's liberalism.  

Here is the map of results by town in the 2012 presidential election:



Obama defeated Romney in almost all of the towns.  I doubt that they're all hippie communes.  Some of them must consist primarily of old-stock Vermonters.

[The Free North]

1.Anti-tax sentiment
2.Racist Boston suburbs

Yes, like usual those who disagree with you are racists, good point.


Any evidence to back that up, or just pulling things out of your ass?

[Rockefeller GOP]

Vermont also has a lot of  long-time, rural and/or working-class people who vote Dem (and many of the older generation, as noted, are registered Republicans-yet still vote for the likes of Bernie Sanders). It's not just a matter of hippies and liberals from other states moving in.

EDIT: Vermont is also one of the least religious states, too-although it's overall political culture is still heavily influenced by its Yankee Protestant and non-Yankee Catholic heritage.

This is probably correct.  It seems that the in-migration of hippies is only one factor for Vermont's liberalism.  

Here is the map of results by town in the 2012 presidential election:



Obama defeated Romney in almost all of the towns.  I doubt that they're all hippie communes.  Some of them must consist primarily of old-stock Vermonters.

I was more trying to explain the shift toward the Dems in like the '70s and '80s.  Yes, currently almost every group in Vermont is fairly loyal to the Democrats.  But if the election were like Susan Collins vs. Zel Miller (LOL), they'd go Republican.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Its kind of ironic that New Hampshire was the most Democratic-leaning of the three states in the earlier 20th century, as it went to Woodrow Wilson twice and Franklin Roosevelt 3 times.

In fact, in 1936, as goes Maine so goes Vermont. And nothing else.

[Fed. Pac. Chairman Devin]

I don't know if it's true, but I heard the North-South highway, and the repeal of the green mountain rule turned Vermont blue.

[Smash255]

One of the things I pondered today:

Why is New Hampshire so much more Republican Presidentially than its neighbors on either side?

Obviously it is still not considered a conservative state, but Vermont is one of the most liberal states in the country and Maine is up there as well. As far as I know the demographics are not very different between the three states, and yet voting patterns seem to quite literally change at the borders.

Why?

Most of the areas in New Hampshire that border Vermont are fairly Democratic, it is the Boston suburban portion of the state that tends to be the most Republican

[The Free North]

Big D area now is the Dartmouth College area bordering Vermont.

I have friends who went to Dartmouth. They say they didn't know any Republicans there.

Clearly it's no longer Laura Ingraham's Dartmouth.

I know plenty of republicans at dartmouth


Take a look in some of the fraternity houses and you'll understand

[Indy Texas]

Big D area now is the Dartmouth College area bordering Vermont.

I have friends who went to Dartmouth. They say they didn't know any Republicans there.

Clearly it's no longer Laura Ingraham's Dartmouth.

I know plenty of republicans at dartmouth


Take a look in some of the fraternity houses and you'll understand

Yes, but that's true of any university. I'm referring to the student body as a whole.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

New Hampshire has a very strong libertarian streak, as reflected in their motto ("Live free or die").  That's probably one of the reasons.

[Asian Nazi]

Did you just dig up a 19 month old thread just to grind your axe about how supposedly solid blue NH is?

[Rockefeller GOP]

Did you just dig up a 19 month old thread just to grind your axe about how supposedly solid blue NH is?

Yup.  Gettin' real old.

[StatesPoll]

Maine District 2nd is a swing state imo