“I’ve often wondered how VT turned so FAR left”
Liberals from NY City invading Vermont by the hundreds of thousands. California liberals did the exact same thing to Oregon and Washington State, both which used to be conservative states. The vast land area of both states is still conservative but the liberal strongholds of King County (Seattle) and Multnomah County (Portland, OR) are where the majority of the people (California transplants) live. Those two tiny areas of the states control the states politics.
Incorrect, as far as Washington is concerned. In 1936, James Farley, who was Postmaster General and political fixer to FDR, referred to Washington state as "the soviet of Washington". The Wobblies had a huge presence in Washington during and after World War I.