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NEW STUDY RANKS AMERICA’S MOST LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE CITIES
Bay Area Center for Voting Research ^ | August 11, 2005 | Bay Area Center for Voting Research

Posted on 08/11/2005 1:13:23 PM PDT by TheMole

BERKELEY, CA – A new nationwide study released today by the nonpartisan Bay Area Center for Voting Research (BACVR) ranks the political leanings of every American city and finds that Detroit, Michigan is the most liberal and Provo, Utah the most conservative.

In all, the BACVR researchers examined voting patterns of 237 American cities with populations of over 100,000 and ranked them each on liberal and conservative scales.

The list of America’s most liberal cities is dominated by cities with large African American populations that are concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest and California. Conversely, the study found that the staunchest conservative cities are clustered in the South and interior West and have extremely low numbers of African American residents.

“Detroit and Provo epitomize America’s political, economic and racial polarization,” said Jason Alderman a BACVR director. “As the most conservative city in America, Provo is overwhelmingly white and solidly middle class. This is in stark contrast to Detroit, which is impoverished, black and the most liberal.” Gary, Indiana, a rust belt former steel town, comes in as America’s second most liberal city, followed by Berkeley, California, which ranks third. Washington, D.C. comes in as the fourth most liberal and Oakland, California comes in fifth.

On the list of the nation’s most conservative cities, Texas cements its reputation as America’s most rock-ribbed state, having three cities in the top five. Lubbock and Abilene, Texas rank as the second and third most conservative cities, respectively, followed by Hialeah, Florida in fourth place and Plano, Texas in fifth.

BACVR researchers found a direct correlation between a city’s political ideology and its racial makeup. “The great political divide in America today is not red vs. blue, north vs. south, costal vs. interior or even rich vs. poor – it is now clearly black vs. white,” said Phil Reiff, a BACVR director.

“While there are a few liberal cities without large African American populations, these wind up being the exceptions. College towns like Berkeley and Cambridge have modest black populations but remain bastions of upper middle-class, white, intellectual liberalism. These liberal white communities, however, are more reminiscent of penguins clustering together around a shrinking iceberg than of a vibrant and growing political movement,” Reiff said.

The Bay Area Center for Voting Research is a nonpartisan think tank based in Berkeley, California. A full copy of the report and the complete list of rankings for all 237 cities are available at www.votingresearch.org.

America’s 25 Most Liberal Cities
(in descending order)
1 Detroit Michigan
2 Gary Indiana
3 Berkeley California
4 Washington, D.C.
5 Oakland California
6 Inglewood California
7 Newark New Jersey
8 Cambridge Massachusetts
9 San Francisco California
10 Flint Michigan
11 Cleveland Ohio
12 Hartford Connecticut
13 Paterson New Jersey
14 Baltimore Maryland
15 New Haven Connecticut
16 Seattle Washington
17 Chicago Illinois
18 Philadelphia Pennsylvania
19 Birmingham Alabama
20 St. Louis Missouri
21 New York New York
22 Providence Rhode Island
23 Minneapolis Minnesota
24 Boston Massachusetts
25 Buffalo New York

America’s 25 Most Conservative Cities
(in descending order)
1 Provo Utah
2 Lubbock Texas
3 Abilene Texas
4 Hialeah Florida
5 Plano Texas
6 Colorado Springs Colorado
7 Gilbert Arizona
8 Bakersfield California
9 Lafayette Louisiana
10 Orange California
11 Escondido California
12 Allentown Pennsylvania
13 Mesa Arizona
14 Arlington Texas
15 Peoria Arizona
16 Cape Coral Florida
17 Garden Grove California
18 Simi Valley California
19 Corona California
20 Clearwater Florida
21 West Valley City Utah
22 Oklahoma City Oklahoma
23 Overland Park Kansas
24 Anchorage Alaska
25 Huntington Beach California


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bayarea; conservativecities; liberalcities; study; topten; zaq
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To: TheMole

I would like to see this done with the states.


41 posted on 08/11/2005 1:25:05 PM PDT by msnimje
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To: TheMole

Bookmark


42 posted on 08/11/2005 1:25:18 PM PDT by BenLurkin (O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
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To: raccoonradio
How does that explain Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, who's from Lubbock?

Even the most shapely buttocks can have the occassional boil.

43 posted on 08/11/2005 1:25:24 PM PDT by N. Theknow (Be a glowworm. A glowworm's never glum. How can you be grumpy when the sun shines out your bum?)
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To: TheMole
As the most conservative city in America, Provo is overwhelmingly white and solidly middle class. This is in stark contrast to Detroit, which is impoverished, black and the most liberal.

In other words, socialism is succeeding about as well in Detroit as it has elsewhere.

44 posted on 08/11/2005 1:25:56 PM PDT by hauerf
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To: Sterm26
“While there are a few liberal cities without large African American populations, these wind up being the exceptions. College towns like Berkeley and Cambridge have modest black populations but remain bastions of upper middle-class, white, intellectual liberalism. These liberal white communities, however, are more reminiscent of penguins clustering together around a shrinking iceberg than of a vibrant and growing political movement,” Reiff said.

Kind of sums up your typical Democrat, doesn't it? Maybe the Democrats should change their mascot to a penguin.

45 posted on 08/11/2005 1:26:02 PM PDT by Night Hides Not (The only NOC list containing the name of Valerie Plame was stolen by Ethan Hunt.)
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To: TheMole
They forgot to put New Orleans.

Easily in the top 5 most liberal.

46 posted on 08/11/2005 1:26:47 PM PDT by Windsong (FighterPilot)
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To: Rosemont
No wonder why Detroit is such a toilet

And what they don't say is that liberalism is what turned Detroit into a toilet. Coming to a city near you soon!

47 posted on 08/11/2005 1:27:02 PM PDT by TXBubba ( Democrats: If they don't abort you then they will tax you to death.)
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To: Finalapproach29er

Does any city in South Dakota have 100,000 people?

I seem to remember that Sioux Falls voted heavily for Herseth over Diedrich.


48 posted on 08/11/2005 1:27:04 PM PDT by HostileTerritory
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To: TheMole

Ann Arbor, MI should be in the top 10.


49 posted on 08/11/2005 1:27:09 PM PDT by Pest (My reality check bounced!)
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To: Commander Salamander
That's Luckenbach
50 posted on 08/11/2005 1:27:20 PM PDT by Ranald S. MacKenzie (Its the philosophy, stupid.)
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To: hauerf

On the other hand, one two-family house in Cambridge is worth more than a whole city block in Lubbock.


51 posted on 08/11/2005 1:27:51 PM PDT by HostileTerritory
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To: Rosemont
No wonder why Detroit is such a toilet

Older history books from the 1930's describe Detroit as one of this nation's gems. Not any longer.

52 posted on 08/11/2005 1:28:00 PM PDT by Mark was here (My tag line was about to be censored.)
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To: TheMole

How many of the conservative cities listed have a conservative newspaper? Any newspaper owners out there who wonder why circulation's going down? ( connect dots between 1st and 2nd sentences)


53 posted on 08/11/2005 1:28:20 PM PDT by GOPJ (A person who will lie for you, will lie against you.)
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To: raccoonradio
#3..easy....she's the black sheep of the town ..LOL
...there's always one :)
54 posted on 08/11/2005 1:28:27 PM PDT by Guenevere
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To: al_c

I was surprised as well, Austin is the Berkley of Texas.


55 posted on 08/11/2005 1:28:43 PM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: FormerACLUmember
Liberal Detroit is uninhabitable and is an empty ghost town. Most of the productive people are fleeing. The city is becoming a wasteland under socialism

Good god almighty! That pic looks like something out of Road Warrior, or perhaps Fallout (post-nuclear RPG PC game).

56 posted on 08/11/2005 1:29:32 PM PDT by Windsong (FighterPilot)
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To: TheMole

In Alaska, Anchorage is where we keep the batty'ists of our Moonbats.. yet it is still 24 of the most conservative cities.. You can only wonder how conservative the rest of Alaska is.. Juno(the capital) excepted..



57 posted on 08/11/2005 1:30:03 PM PDT by hosepipe (This Propaganda has been edited to include not a small amount of Hyperbole..)
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To: TheMole

Figures that Detroit tops the lib list. It also happens to be the single most corrupt city in the whole damn history of cities. Way to go, Kilpatrick! Top of the dung heap for you.


58 posted on 08/11/2005 1:31:01 PM PDT by grellis (node iddum eentup sechew)
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To: Ranald S. MacKenzie

Luckenbach

Of course, you are right! That's one of those things you realize just as you click the post button.


59 posted on 08/11/2005 1:31:25 PM PDT by Commander Salamander (Some attain greatness going through what you're going through)
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To: Mr. Mojo

The times they are a channnnnngggginggg.....


60 posted on 08/11/2005 1:32:22 PM PDT by Hi Heels (Guns kill and cause crime? Dang, mine must be malfunctioning....)
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