Which state is the heart and soul of the Democratic/Republican Party?

[Sumner 1868]

Northern Virginia is a better reflection of the Democratic Party than CA.

[Del Tachi]

Northern Virginia is a better reflection of the Democratic Party than CA.

Nah.  Its too rich and too Asian, not enough Blacks or Hispanics.

[TDAS04]

Democrats: California (for obvious reasons)
Republicans: Alabama (extremely socon and evangelical and far from fiscally leftist, pretty rural with just enough suburbia to make it a better answer than Mississippi/Arkansas).  Oklahoma may be a close runner up.

[The Undefeatable Debbie Stabenow]

Democratic: CA, MA
Republican: KY, MO

[Alabama_Indy10]

Democrats: California
Republicans: Texas

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

For all y'all saying Wyoming - it doesn't have suburbanites or Evangelicals, which are two major constituents for the GOP nationally.

California is more representative of the national GOP than Wyoming; at least the Golden State has a non-negligible number of Evangelicals and suburban voters.

I was under the impression that there were a lot of evangelicals in Wyoming (if you ever spent time in Cheyenne you would understand why) but apparently it's only a quarter of the population? Is it because something about evangelical worship requires going to a large church or something?

survey

Northern Virginia is a better reflection of the Democratic Party than CA.

Nah.  Its too rich and too Asian, not enough Blacks or Hispanics.

Not sure where you're getting the idea that NoVA is lacking in AAs or Hispanics from... here's Fairfax County demographic info from 2010 (per Wikipedia)

62.68%    White
9.17%    Black or African American
0.36%    Native American
17.53%    Asian
0.07%    Pacific Islander
4.54%    other races
3.65%    two or more races.
15.58%    Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Fairfax is definitely wealthier than nearly any other suburban county in the US but in that sense I'd say it pretty much proves the rule. More wealth tends to mean more educated, more educated tends to mean more Democratic. Fairfax's proportion of Asians is definitely higher than the nation on average but of course non-white voters tend to be Democratic.

[Calthrina950]

Hard to disagree with California for the Democrats, though Hawaii could be a strong contender.

For the Republicans, I have to consider several factors (well, same for Dems as well)
- Dominance in statewide elected offices and the state legislature
- Dominance in population centers across the state and in rural areas
- Control of Senate and House seats

Wyoming, Oklahoma, Utah, and Arkansas are at the top of my list.  They have no Democratic areas in the state (Tennessee has Nashville and Memphis, Missouri has St Louis and KC, West Virginia has a Democratic governor).

Of my top four, I will go with Utah as it is (I think) least likely to elect a Democrat statewide or to Congress.  Arkansas is strongly tending in this direction, but has fairly recently elected Democrats.  Wyoming, Tennessee, and Oklahoma have in the past dozen years elected Democratic governors and could do so again (though perhaps not likely).

This is actually inaccurate. Wyoming has Teton County, Utah has Summit County (and increasingly, Salt Lake County), and Arkansas has Pulaski County, along with the majority-black counties on the Mississippi River. Oklahoma seems set to gain Oklahoma County as it's Democratic holdout, if current partisan and demographic trends continue.

As to the question in the thread title, I would say that California is the most representative Democratic state while Tennessee is the most representative Republican one.

[538Electoral]

Republicans: Wyoming
Democrats: Hawaii

[RINO Tom]

For all y'all saying Wyoming - it doesn't have suburbanites or Evangelicals, which are two major constituents for the GOP nationally.

California is more representative of the national GOP than Wyoming; at least the Golden State has a non-negligible number of Evangelicals and suburban voters.

I was under the impression that there were a lot of evangelicals in Wyoming (if you ever spent time in Cheyenne you would understand why) but apparently it's only a quarter of the population? Is it because something about evangelical worship requires going to a large church or something?

survey

Northern Virginia is a better reflection of the Democratic Party than CA.

Nah.  Its too rich and too Asian, not enough Blacks or Hispanics.

Not sure where you're getting the idea that NoVA is lacking in AAs or Hispanics from... here's Fairfax County demographic info from 2010 (per Wikipedia)

62.68%    White
9.17%    Black or African American
0.36%    Native American
17.53%    Asian
0.07%    Pacific Islander
4.54%    other races
3.65%    two or more races.
15.58%    Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Fairfax is definitely wealthier than nearly any other suburban county in the US but in that sense I'd say it pretty much proves the rule. More wealth tends to mean more educated, more educated tends to mean more Democratic. Fairfax's proportion of Asians is definitely higher than the nation on average but of course non-white voters tend to be Democratic.

Right, but more income ALSO means LESS Democratic, even with Trump and the 2018 midterms.  So, I think for "heart and soul" type places, you would want an area that is extremely educated but not overly wealthy.

[Del Tachi]

For all y'all saying Wyoming - it doesn't have suburbanites or Evangelicals, which are two major constituents for the GOP nationally.

California is more representative of the national GOP than Wyoming; at least the Golden State has a non-negligible number of Evangelicals and suburban voters.

I was under the impression that there were a lot of evangelicals in Wyoming (if you ever spent time in Cheyenne you would understand why) but apparently it's only a quarter of the population? Is it because something about evangelical worship requires going to a large church or something?

survey

Northern Virginia is a better reflection of the Democratic Party than CA.

Nah.  Its too rich and too Asian, not enough Blacks or Hispanics.

Not sure where you're getting the idea that NoVA is lacking in AAs or Hispanics from... here's Fairfax County demographic info from 2010 (per Wikipedia)

62.68%    White
9.17%    Black or African American
0.36%    Native American
17.53%    Asian
0.07%    Pacific Islander
4.54%    other races
3.65%    two or more races.
15.58%    Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Fairfax is definitely wealthier than nearly any other suburban county in the US but in that sense I'd say it pretty much proves the rule. More wealth tends to mean more educated, more educated tends to mean more Democratic. Fairfax's proportion of Asians is definitely higher than the nation on average but of course non-white voters tend to be Democratic.

Right, but more income ALSO means LESS Democratic, even with Trump and the 2018 midterms.  So, I think for "heart and soul" type places, you would want an area that is extremely educated but not overly wealthy.

And one would think that the average Democratic county in the US is way less White than 62%, significantly more Black than 9%, and much, much less Asian than Fairfax.  It's just too unique to be a representation of the entire Democratic Party.

Maryland is a much better candidate for "heart" of the Democratic Party.  Its 45.3% non-White (28% Black, 12% Hispanic, 5% Asian), 39% bachelors degree or higher (more educated than VA), and ethnic Whites in Baltimore look a lot like those in Boston or Chicago (very Catholic and working class, historically two big Democratic constituencies).  Maryland also has significant majority-Black areas (PG and Baltimore City) which are the backbone of Democratic politics in much of the South.  Montgomery County provides a suitable Fairfax County analogue in MD.

Maryland really checks all three boxes that are the national Democrats' core constituencies:  ethnic Whites ✓, Blacks ✓, and educated suburbs ✓.  NOVA is definitely lacking in 2/3 of those.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Democrats: California
Republicans: Texas

[ON Progressive]

Dems: Maryland
GOP: Tennessee

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Texas for the GOP.

California for the Democrats.

Most of the "ideas" that drive the respective parties have come from those states.

This.

Texas represents absolutely everything necessary in a winning GOP coalition, and if Republicans are in trouble, the first sign of that trouble will be in upscale, educated, suburban Texas.

[gottsu]

Dems: California or Massachusetts
GOP: The Dakotas or another Great Plains state

[Wazza [INACTIVE]]

Maryland or Cali for the D's
Wyoming or Oklahoma for the R's

[Senator Incitatus]

Certainly the heart and soul of a party is where most of its voters are as a percentage of the national party, not where the state has most of the local voters. Wyoming has no influence on the national party (except insofar as its only Rep is has some personal influence as Dick Cheney's daughter) and neither do most Plains states.

For Republicans, it would probably be Texas, Ohio/Pennsylvania, or Florida – the three states where Trump got the most raw votes and carried the state. I'd say Texas but Florida is clearly the ascendant state party in terms of national influence.

For Democrats, California or New York of course.

[John Dule]

There's two ways of looking at this. Either the state embodies the spirit of the party, or it's actually the most far-left or far-right state in the union. Since the latter definition is less fun, I'll go with the former.

Democrats: Illinois (Corruption, idiotic labor laws, malfeasance, gun restrictions, some of the worst politicians in American history)
Republicans: Mississippi (Poorly funded, low quality of life, hated and inefficient bureaucracy, deep racial divide)

[Medal506]

Democratic Party - Hawaii
Republican Party - Utah

[MarkD]

Democratic Party - Massachusetts
Republican Party - Kansas

[darklordoftech]

It was Texas for the GOP in the 90s and 00s.

[junior chįmp]

For the Dem party its california...expensive, over taxed, worst income equality in the nation but hey did you hear they elected a former mailman whos black but now has transitioned to being a white male construction worker as Sacramento dog catcher?

get excited while the CA democratic party helps itself to a little bit more of your tax monies to fund Gavin Newsom's hair gel fund

[bagelman]

For the Dem party its california...expensive, over taxed, worst income equality in the nation but hey did you hear they elected a former mailman whos black but now has transitioned to being a white male construction worker as Sacramento dog catcher?

get excited while the CA democratic party helps itself to a little bit more of your tax monies to fund Gavin Newsom's hair gel fund

[S019]

Dems-California
GOP-Alabama

[Mechavada]

Democratic: California, for basically the same reasons Mondale mentioned.

Republican: Massachusetts.  Relax I'm kidding.  The real answer is Oklahoma.  Low cost of living, "low tax", low test scores.  Also racist as hell (and they don't even realize it) against outsiders and ultra-judgmental/puritanical social values.  But hey look how well Chesapeake is doing guys!  THE FREE MARKET WORKS!  THE FREE MARKET WORKS! (gives oil executive a check for $100 million)

Of course yeah I realize you could probably the same for some other Republican states but Oklahoma just sticks out like a big red dirt coated finger because it's just so over the top.  That, and while not the most Republican state (that'd probably be Wyoming or something) it seems to be the state where even after the GOP has royally screwed the pooch they can still win statewide elections (I will concede Edmondson wasn't as exciting as his supporters thought he was, but still inexcusable), just like Republican administrations can keep giving us record deficits, uncalled for wars, increased poverty, and lower pay without their voters judging them..

[RFayette]

In terms of broadly representing their respective coalitions:

Democratic = either California or Maryland
Republican = Missouri