If all 50 states went to war, which one would win?

[angus]

Hard call.  I think states like California, Texas, Florida, and New York would have the edge in population.  Additionally California and Texas could feed their populations for an extended period without food import.  The Northeast has the largest share of defense contractors, but they're not concentrated in one single state, so California and Texas have an edge here as well.  Both states also have very long coastlines with several ports and could probably import by sea if necessary.  I think it comes down to those two, so let's compare them.

California has 37 million residents while Texas has about 25 million.  Advantage:  California.  Texas has a very weak governorship which might hamstring it with regards to executive command decisions, but California has a very litigious process that also might hamper its efforts.  No advantage.  Both states have large information technology sectors.  California at the moment has a larger share, but a number of companies have left in favor of lower taxes and less permitting bureaucracy in Texas.  At the present time the advantage lies with California in this regard.  Texas has the ground force advantage with five major army bases, compared to California's three.  California has a naval advantage with 12 major Navy or Marine Corps bases compared to Texas' two.  Texas has eight Air Forces bases while California has five.  Overall, they are both well manned in this regard.  California only has to defend its borders against three enemy states, while Texas borders four other US states, although the states bordering California have a larger combined population.  Slight advantage to Texas in this regard.  California has a slight edge in recruiting, since it sends a slightly larger number of men and women into the armed forces, but it is not proportional to its population advantage.  Texas definitely has the edge with regard to arming civilian populations.  Texas ranks 33 among the states, while California ranks 44, for per-capita gun ownership according to the NICS.  Advantage:  Texas.  (By a different measure, from USACarry.com, Texas ranks 30 and California ranks 42.)  Also, California has a well-established system of binding popular referenda, which means that if folks get sick and tired of war, all they have to do is vote to end it.  Texas will have to do what its bellicose legislature decides, which I'd imagine would be to fight to the last man.  Advantage:  Texas. 

Overall, excepting a war of attrition fought by all residents (in which California would have the advantage), I'd give the edge to Texas.