Why is Minnesota so liberal?

[Ban my account ffs!]

Minneapolis is a huge part of the states population, and it has traditions from the liberal farmers McGovern/Humphrey/McCarthy movement. It's also not super, super white.

Uh not sure what data you have been looking at but MN has been until recently one of the whitest states.

That is changing because MN attracts quite a few immigrants.  Currently there are 404,000 immigrants in MN compared to 268,000 in WI, 236,000 in Missouri, 305,000 in Tennessee, 226,000 in South Carolina, or even 469,000 in much bigger Ohio.  These states are all more populous than MN or are in more immigrant heavy regions (SC) but have significantly lower immigration rates.

So immigrants would be just over 7% of the population.  But the nh white pop of MN is in the low 80s now.

By contrast, Minneapolis was still 90% nh white in 1970 and the state like 97% nh white.

[Ban my account ffs!]

It really grinds my gears when people "reasonably" "assume" that Minnesota Democrats "aren't that liberal.. they're just a bunch of moderates"...what utter BS!

-Voted down a gay marriage ban and voter ID requirements by referendum (both victories for the DFL)

-4th highest income tax in the nation

-Some of the most generous welfare benefits of any state

-The 2nd lowest incarceration rate behind Maine.  That's right... per capita... MN has fewer prisoners than Vermont.  And not because Minnesotans are particularly well behaved.

-Some of the most strict water quality rules

-A sales tax specifically for arts and outdoors funding... supported by the DFL and approved by the electorate (so the art culture has been revolutionized in the state in a way that is unique in this country)

-Some of the most lax marijuana possession laws in the nation for a state without legal cannabis (up to 42 grams is a petty misdemeanor.  No jail time.  42 grams is quite a bit of weed)

-Schools are largely funded at the state level with equalization payments to property poor school districts in inner cities and rural areas so the quality of education is high and doesn't vary as much as other places

-Some of the highest taxes in the nation, and yet one of the most efficient state governments with one of the lowest rates of government employees per capita (because that money is being spent on taxpayers)

Underlying all of it is a deeply ingrained attitude of progressive moralism... that machine politics are a non-starter.  Even the faintest whiff of corruption prompts the question "should you resign now or wait to find a replacement", that government and business should operate honestly and transparently, and most importantly... that government, when run this way, is mostly a force for good providing material and administrative cohesion that reflects the cultural cohesion of state residents.

It probably sounds pie in the sky to you... or quaint... or ridiculous... or perhaps it sounds rather nice..... it is what it is.

But I'd argue MN is definitely the most liberal state outside of the two coasts.. and certainly cares more about the income inequality/poverty aspect of liberalism a lot more than even those coastal social liberalism bastions.

[Ban my account ffs!]

What to look at is that it's never that blue.  In a sense it's voted Democrat as long as the bluest, but I'd only classify it as light blue or likely Democrat alongside CT, MI, IL, NV, WI, NM, WA, OR, NJ, and ME.  It's a teaser too, just close enough for Republicans to say "this is our year in MN."  At 52-53% of the popular vote, Republicans could carry Minnesota.

Like in 2004 when Bush won 53% of the vote and carried Minnesota?

Oh wait.

I could see Minnesota going GOP if the Republican got 57% of the national vote and there wasn't a Minnesotan on the Democratic ticket.  Or any other popular statewide DFLer.

The GOP will have won the presidency loooong before that... so the GOP pumping money into MN is really a case of fools chasing fools gold.

And I'll reiterate it... again.  If you look at the actual policies and statistics, you'll find Minnesota is actually quite liberal in practice.  They accept the DFL as the de facto ruling party and only use the GOP as a punishment when the DFL overreaches.