Why is Vermont so liberal nowadays?

[Dgov]

Vermont is actually very similar to Western MA, for those interested.  Both regions are approximatly 70% Democrat, and typically have a small-town Liberal feel to them.

[Dgov]

Did the liberal transplants simply begin outnumber Yankee Republicans?

This was brought up onn another thread a while ago, but Vermont has the highest percentage of it's residents born out-of-state for any state in the country (50-60%).  Bernie Sanders and Howard Dean were both New Yorkers by birth.

[Dgov]

I'm surprised that Vermont has the highest percentage of out-of-staters - I would have guessed New Mexico, with Nevada and Arizona as my second and third guesses.

New Mexico actually has a fairly US-born Hispanic Population (closet to 90%), so it's not likely to make that list.

I'd Guess Texas is up there though, as it's the only major state getting significant immigrants from both inside and outside of the country