The demographics are somewhat similar to Long Island, although the percentage of descendants of British and Dutch colonial settlers is higher than in the New York metro area. Long Island at least has the advantage of its proximity to New York City; north of Interstate 84, this is not the case. The economic problems of the upstate and western areas of the Empire State are largely the result of deindustrialization. Environmental regulations and outsourcing heavy industry to Mexico and overseas are major reasons for the loss of industrial base. Remember that until the 1960s, the GOP was the party of high tariffs. From the Civil War until the 1970s, Republicans dominated the upstate and western New York congressional delegation. They consistently favored higher tariffs to support companies like Eastman Kodak and U.S. Steel.
Western New York was characterized recently by National Review author Kevin Williamson as filled with degenerate, drug addled white trash, similar to Kentucky and his native West Texas. Mr. Williamson and his cohorts will probably be disappointed in the primary results from Long Island and upstate and western New York.
Thanks for the good info on this post and your earlier one on NY demographics - very informative.