IL/WI: Which Great Lakes state is more "liberal"?

[Mr. Illini]

Illinois has a very conservative downstate and even many of Chicago's Democratic areas are not all that liberal. Wisconsin has Milwaukee, which is similar to Chicago in that aspect, but also has far-left Madison with a more moderate upstate as well.

That said, Illinois is substantially more Democratic than Wisconsin, and Chicago does have a very activist, union culture where moderate fiscal Democrats have been primaried. Not to mention that Chicago's suburbs are generally more Democratic and moderate while Milwaukee has very Republican suburbs.

What say you?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

The one that was actually contested in 2012.

[Meursault]

Illinois is more 'liberal', if the definition of 'liberal' is "regulation-happy nanny-state with strong inclinations towards State capitalism". Wisconisn is more 'liberal', if the definition of 'liberal' is "focused on constructing a humanistic society".

[Mr. Illini]

The one that was actually contested in 2012.

You mean the one that was not?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

The one that was actually contested in 2012.

You mean the one that was not?

Whoops... yes.  I don't see how this is even a contest.

[TJ in Oregon]

Oh Illinois without a doubt. Just compare the Chicago and Milwaukee suburbs. Wisconsin has Madison, sure, but the City of Chicago drowns out all else in Illinois. If you're still in doubt, ask yourself whether a socon could possibly get elected statewide in each. They could in Wisconsin in pretty much any Republican-favoring circumstances. It would take something incredible for a socon to win Illinois.

[TJ in Oregon]

A better question would probably be WI/MN. The forum's answer would be MN by a decisive margin but I think there as at least a doubt with the answer of that question. WI/IA would also be interesting, and possibly somewhat close to evenly divided.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A better question would probably be WI/MN. The forum's answer would be MN by a decisive margin but I think there as at least a doubt with the answer of that question. WI/IA would also be interesting, and possibly somewhat close to evenly divided.

WI/IA, sure, but I don't think there's any doubt that Minnesota is more liberal than Wisconsin.  What evidence is there to suggest otherwise?

[Mr. Illini]

The one that was actually contested in 2012.

You mean the one that was not?

Whoops... yes.  I don't see how this is even a contest.

Well, I suppose the contest has to do with southern Illinois being SO conservative and Chicago, outside of the north side, being fairly conservative Democrats.

I've always felt that Wisconsin has more of a socially progressive "feel" to it even though it is more Republican.

Probably just a good example of a "grass is always greener on the other side" circumstance, though.

[GaussLaw]

The one that didn't elect a fascist governor that hates giving teachers a living wage.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I've wondered, how many Baldwin / Johnson voters are there in Wisconsin? Has there ever been two Senators from the same state further apart ideologically?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Paul Wellstone/Rod Grams

[Boris]

Flagship university-wise, UW-Madison is more liberal than UIUC. I wouldn't call the latter 'conservative' by any stretch, but it's like 10x less political. Having a Naperville-heavy, a greater emphasis on 'apolitical' engineering as opposed to the liberal arts, and a high foreign born student body is probably why. Also not being located in Madison.

[Smash255]

Illinois.  Madison itself is the most liberal, but its small in size compared to Chicago.  Not to mention the conservative areas of Illinois for the most part do not have many people, Waukesha County does.

[Mr. Illini]

Flagship university-wise, UW-Madison is more liberal than UIUC. I wouldn't call the latter 'conservative' by any stretch, but it's like 10x less political. Having a Naperville-heavy, a greater emphasis on 'apolitical' engineering as opposed to the liberal arts, and a high foreign born student body is probably why. Also not being located in Madison.

Although I was mainly referring to the states proper in OP, I loathe how apolitical UIUC is. I would also say that it is more moderate than UW as well, although still falling on the left. Especially the student body (the professors are pretty comparable between the schools, I'd say).

I love this school, but I wish people cared more about the politics that impact them so much.

[Хahar 🤔]

Flagship university-wise, UW-Madison is more liberal than UIUC. I wouldn't call the latter 'conservative' by any stretch, but it's like 10x less political. Having a Naperville-heavy, a greater emphasis on 'apolitical' engineering as opposed to the liberal arts, and a high foreign born student body is probably why. Also not being located in Madison.

It's weird to me that there are schools where politics is a big deal. I know far more about elections going on in Berkeley than at my own school, because as far as I know nobody here cares.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Wisconsin may have some liberal tendencies, but election results suggest that Illinois is far more liberal.

[TJ in Oregon]

Well, I suppose the contest has to do with southern Illinois being SO conservative and Chicago, outside of the north side, being fairly conservative Democrats.

I've always felt that Wisconsin has more of a socially progressive "feel" to it even though it is more Republican.

Probably just a good example of a "grass is always greener on the other side" circumstance, though.

How do you think the voting results would compare in Illinois and Wisconsin if they each had a referendum on gay marriage? Abortion? Public employee union collective bargaining? Fracking? Marijuana? Do you really think Wisconsin is more socially progressive if each state was given a chance to decided divisive issues by referendum? Madison may scream the loudest, but it's people still only get one vote each. Wisconsin, much to the chagrin of most on the Atlas Forum (), is a lot bigger than Dane County.

[justfollowingtheelections]

According to the 2012 election exit polls, IL is 26% liberal while WI is 24%.

[publicunofficial]

I think Democrats in Wisconsin are as a whole more liberal than Democrats in Illinois, and that makes Wisconsin more liberal even if there's a smaller amount of Democratic voters.


When I think of a liberal city, I think Madison, not Chicago.

[King of Kensington]

Illinois.

http://andrewgelman.com/2008/06/30/ranking_states/

But perhaps Illlinois outside Chicagoland (i.e. the remaining 1/3 of the state or so) is more conservative than Wisconsin and more akin to Indiana?

[CountyTy90]

I agree with the two posts above me.

As a moderate Northern Illinoisian, I think that Wisconsin is more socially liberal.

Yes we have Chicago, which is liberal, no doubt, but it's not the Madison type liberal.

I think that Doyle was way more progressive than Blagojevich, however, our governors now are on the opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Outside of Chciago, the state really sheds its Great Lakes/Rust Belt voting patterns that is shares with southeast Wisconsin, the Detroit area, Cleveland, Toledo, Pittsburgh, etc. and really morphs into the conservative Midwest, much like Indiana. Ever been on I 74 by Champaign? Pro gun and pro life signs everywhere.

Another difference is our rural areas. Northern Wisconsin and Southern Illinois, both demographically similar (though Southern Illinois has more African Americans) vote in the opposite direction.

[King of Kensington]

But Madison makes up a much small percentage of Wisconsin's population than Chicago does of Illinois.

[ElectionsGuy]

Illinois. Madison is the only hot spot of liberal activism in Wisconsin, Chicago and other areas in Illinois are much bigger and underrated as "liberal" areas.

[Mr. Illini]

Outside of Chciago, the state really sheds its Great Lakes/Rust Belt voting patterns that is shares with southeast Wisconsin, the Detroit area, Cleveland, Toledo, Pittsburgh, etc. and really morphs into the conservative Midwest, much like Indiana. Ever been on I 74 by Champaign? Pro gun and pro life signs everywhere.

This really doesn't matter too much. There is a popular theme among Illinois Republicans in saying "Well, outside of Chicagoland, Illinois is 'x' way." That's all fine and dandy, but when you're looking at the state as a whole, you have to look at it as just that - a whole. That means giving each area proportional weight, and downstate is proportionally much smaller than Chicagoland.

The best argument that has convinced me here is the suburbs. It's kind of hard to know just how liberal Democrats are in the city of Chicago since it is a city where politics matter a lot more than ideology. Chicago's suburbs are A LOT more Democratic than Milwaukee's suburbs.

I just want to emphasize that. Like A LOT more so.

That tells me a lot about the overall trends of Chicago proper and Illinois as a whole.