Heavily populated anything turns socialist. Heavily unpopulated anything turns American. If you pack freedom loving, barbequing, gun shooting, loud music loving conservatives into a small space, they'd eventually turn to big government to get their neighbors to be quiet and follow a long list of rules. Government was invented so people could get along. The more people per square mile, the more big intrusive government people want.
Good point. People stay freedom-loving when they have wide-open spaces and minimal intrusion.