Where are white voters more liberal?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The answer is actually almost certainly Fargo. I wonder how much that'd shock people who don't look at lots of political maps.

[CatoMinor]

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Doesn't tell us anything. The question isn't asking North Dakota or New York.

[CatoMinor]

Didn't see the poll part. And Long Island likely. voting D =/= liberal. Note West Virginia and Kentucky

[Sol]

Didn't see the poll part. And Long Island likely. voting D =/= liberal. Note West Virginia and Kentucky

Actually BRTD is probably right here. Fargo whites vote like white voters in any other small Midwest city- Des Moines, La Crosse, etc, and it doesn't have much of a Blue Dog tendency or anything.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

You realize that Long Island includes Brooklyn and Queens, yes?

[Sol]

I'm pretty sure he's using the standard definition of Suffolk+Nassau.

[ElectionsGuy]

Long Island is at least 30% non-white while Fargo is 89% white. So Fargo whites definitely vote more democratic than Long Island whites, but for liberalness I think Long Island would win.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Didn't see the poll part. And Long Island likely. voting D =/= liberal. Note West Virginia and Kentucky

But Fargo isn't a city dominated by a Democratic political machine based off coal mining unions that swung BRUTALLY against Obama.

Really Fargo Democrats aren't much different from white Democrats in Minneapolis, except perhaps in that they're more likely to own guns.

[Mr. Illini]

Does anyone have numbers for the city of Fargo? Because Cass County does vote fairly Republican...

[Sol]

Does anyone have numbers for the city of Fargo? Because Cass County does vote fairly Republican...

Fargo annexed a bunch of suburban areas, IIRC. I think it was about 52% or so for Obama, which probably means Obama won white people there. Which is probably better than Long Island.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

In 2008 Obama won Fargo about 54.5-43.8 and the rest of Cass County was 50.0-48.3 McCain. Based on that, Fargo tends to be about two points more D than Cass County as a whole, which would give Obama about 49% and a plurality in 2012.

The most Republican part of Fargo though is a bunch of recent suburban developments to the south that were in an unincorporated area and were tacked on relatively recently, the "traditional" Fargo was about 55.5% Obama. And there was an area near downtown that was about 60% Obama despite being 90% white. And my point is, THAT is actually pretty damn liberal. It's obviously nothing compared to Minneapolis or Madison or Iowa City or even Duluth (limiting it just to the Midwest) but it does mean that whites in that area are more liberal than whites in suburban NYC.

And no, these are not illiberal Appalachian style Democrats. The major employers in Fargo (or at least that area) are the university and some tech companies.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

BRTD is probably right on this one.  One of those quirks of American politics that you wouldn't expect but makes sense when you think about it.  Economically, definitely.  Socially... I'd say maybe LGBT issues are an exception, but that only because pretty much everyone in the Northeast is cool with the gay at this point, and I couldn't tell you anything about Fargo's take on that issue. 

[patrick1]

BRTD, one thing you seem to be failing to take into consideration is that people have a tendency to define their politics as a reaction against something else.  Some in Long Island (and Staten Island) vote Republican because they specifically go against what they see as liberal domination or excess in NYC.  I'm sure some in Fargo are fairly conservative but vote with the Democratic party as a reaction against the Republican in ND.   

Long Island has been drifting left for a while now too.

[Smash255]

In 2008 Obama won Fargo about 54.5-43.8 and the rest of Cass County was 50.0-48.3 McCain. Based on that, Fargo tends to be about two points more D than Cass County as a whole, which would give Obama about 49% and a plurality in 2012.

The most Republican part of Fargo though is a bunch of recent suburban developments to the south that were in an unincorporated area and were tacked on relatively recently, the "traditional" Fargo was about 55.5% Obama. And there was an area near downtown that was about 60% Obama despite being 90% white. And my point is, THAT is actually pretty damn liberal. It's obviously nothing compared to Minneapolis or Madison or Iowa City or even Duluth (limiting it just to the Midwest) but it does mean that whites in that area are more liberal than whites in suburban NYC.

And no, these are not illiberal Appalachian style Democrats. The major employers in Fargo (or at least that area) are the university and some tech companies.

More Democratic probably, more liberal perhaps not.

It also depends on the area.  Garden City or example is quite conservative and uber Republican.  As is most of southeast Nassau County. 

However, you certainly have white areas on Long Island that are liberal (Roslyn, southern half of Great Neck, the Nassau County portion of the old NY-2 such as Plainview, Woodbury and Jericho)

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Republican dominance of North Dakota is relatively recent, and in fact up until recently Fargo was more reliably Republican than the rest of the state. Even Dole won it.

More Democratic probably, more liberal perhaps not.

As I've stated earlier, probably the only big difference between Fargo Democrats and the Democrats in a middle class residential area of Minneapolis (like Longfellow) is that ones in Fargo would be more likely to own guns. Remember we're talking about people who live surrounded by coffee shops and organic food stores who are most likely either university employees or work in tech jobs and call centers, not a bunch of union coal miners.

[Smash255]

Republican dominance of North Dakota is relatively recent, and in fact up until recently Fargo was more reliably Republican than the rest of the state. Even Dole won it.

More Democratic probably, more liberal perhaps not.

As I've stated earlier, probably the only big difference between Fargo Democrats and the Democrats in a middle class residential area of Minneapolis (like Longfellow) is that ones in Fargo would be more likely to own guns. Remember we're talking about people who live surrounded by coffee shops and organic food stores who are most likely either university employees or work in tech jobs and call centers, not a bunch of union coal miners.

Economic issues I would agree with you on, though part of that is relative.  The biggest economic issue on Long Island is property taxes which tend to average $10,000-$12,000 a year even for the middle class.

Social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion is pretty much on par with the rest of the northeast.  Guns are a major no, even among Republicans you will be hard pressed to find many who don't support strict gun control laws.

[pbrower2a]

Gun ownership may more indicate "sport hunter" in some places than "right-wing". Sport hunters are often union members who can easily distinguish their guns from the sorts usually brandished in armed robberies.