Blaine County, Idaho

[CadetCashBoi]

Why is it so blue? Doesn't really make sense demographically.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Ski resort area. Like Jackson County, Wyoming.

[Adam Griffin]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

[Torie]

https://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/idaho/sun-valley/experiences/news/why-celebrities-flock-to-this-tiny-town-in-idaho

I just learned that Sun Valley had the first ski lifts in the world. Dan and I drive though a town the bears the name of its founder most every time we travel between Hudson and Hoboken.

[BenjiG98]

It's the equivalent of one of Colorado's many resort-y counties. Incredibly expensive to live here and lack of affordable housing is a major issue. I know people who work here that commute from neighboring counties, sometimes 90 minutes away because they can't afford to live in Blaine.

Lots of celebrities have lived or owned property in Blaine, like Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. Sun Valley Resort has a wall of images of its famous guests over the years. Ernest Hemingway completed For Whom the Bell Tolls here and is buried in the county. It's a unique highlight of Idaho culture. I love it.

[Sol]

Blaine County was notably badly hit early on by Covid because it had plenty of jetsetting affluent people in the area.

[Schiff for Senate]

Same reason as Teton County, WY, or Summit County, UT.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

[Hope For A New Era]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

The extremely based final holdout of the New Deal Coalition

[Cokeland Saxton]

Why is it so blue? Doesn't really make sense demographically.

Ski resort

[Tintrlvr]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

Butte/Silver Bow pretty much falls into this category 4, too.

[CadetCashBoi]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

Butte/Silver Bow pretty much falls into this category 4, too.

Also northern Wisconsin

[CadetCashBoi]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

The extremely based final holdout of the New Deal Coalition

final rural holdout that is

[GALeftist]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

Instead of the ten millionth diner story, the New York Times should really head out to Anaconda, Montana and do some interviews with the voters there. I would be extremely interested in such a piece; Anaconda is a lot more mysterious to me than Youngstown or McAllen or whatever.

[Sol]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

Instead of the ten millionth diner story, the New York Times should really head out to Anaconda, Montana and do some interviews with the voters there. I would be extremely interested in such a piece; Anaconda is a lot more mysterious to me than Youngstown or McAllen or whatever.

IMO Anaconda really isn't too shocking once you find the right parallel; it's an extremely ex-industrial town famous for slag piles. The point of comparison are other ex-industrial towns; a good parallel actually is the small towns along the rivers near Pittsburgh, like Coraopolis or Aliquippa, which still vote similarly to Anaconda. Most places like this out east are outvoted by rural areas, but because Deer Lodge's rural areas are very lightly populated, Democrats can still win. It's like if Ashtabula was an independent city-county.

[lfromnj]

When in doubt & you're looking at the western half of the Lower 48, it's fairly safe to assume it's 1) an Indian reservation, 2) a rich white tourist town or 3) heavily-reliant upon federal jobs.

4) Deer Lodge County, Montana.

Instead of the ten millionth diner story, the New York Times should really head out to Anaconda, Montana and do some interviews with the voters there. I would be extremely interested in such a piece; Anaconda is a lot more mysterious to me than Youngstown or McAllen or whatever.

IMO Anaconda really isn't too shocking once you find the right parallel; it's an extremely ex-industrial town famous for slag piles. The point of comparison are other ex-industrial towns; a good parallel actually is the small towns along the rivers near Pittsburgh, like Coraopolis or Aliquippa, which still vote similarly to Anaconda. Most places like this out east are outvoted by rural areas, but because Deer Lodge's rural areas are very lightly populated, Democrats can still win. It's like if Ashtabula was an independent city-county.

IIRC there was a Dr.RI map that shows Montana  is one of the most urban states by self identification.