Why did Hillary win New York, Massachusetts and California in 2008 and 2016?

[buritobr]

Hillary Clinton won the democratic primaries in New York, Massachusetts and California in 2008 and 2016. These states are heavy democratic. Since these states vote left, wouldn't we expect a better perfomance of the left in the primaries?
Obama and Sanders won the democratic primaries in some states which are heavy republican. Are the democratic voters in republican states more leftist?

[Redban]

I believe Hillary was Senator in New York for about 8 years.

[darklordoftech]

In 2008, Hillary won with hispanics, so that probably swung New York and California towards her.

Are the democratic voters in republican states more leftist?

Yes.

[Calthrina950]

In 2008, Hillary won with hispanics, so that probably swung New York and California towards her.

Are the democratic voters in republican states more leftist?

Yes.

I looked at the county map for the 2016 primary in New York, and it closely parallels the county map in the general election. Clinton won the state by almost the same margin in both the primary and the general, receiving 58% against Sanders and 59% against Trump. Both Sanders and Trump swept the vast majority of upstate New York, places where Clinton is strongly disliked (which is ironic, given that she won those counties in her 2006 re-election to the Senate, but that was before Benghazi and the e-mail scandal). Clinton, on her part, dominated in NYC, the major upstate urban centers, and the NYC suburbs, especially her home of Westchester County, where she got more than 60% of the vote against both Sanders and Trump. It wouldn't surprise me if at least some of the upstate Democratic primary voters went for Trump in the general against her, particularly since Chuck Schumer won most of the counties that she lost badly in.

[Calthrina950]

In fact, here are the county maps from the two races.

The 2016 Democratic primary:

And the 2016 general election:

There are obviously some differences. For example, Clinton won Suffolk County and Staten Island in the primary against Sanders, but lost them to Trump in the general. And Sanders won Tompkins County with more than 60% of the vote: Tompkins of course is home to Ithaca, anchored by Cornell University, and younger voters are a key component of the Sanders coalition. Clinton carried Tompkins as the Democratic nominee in the general-though the third-party vote there was a substantial increase over 2012.

But otherwise, the maps correlate pretty well-Westchester County, in particular, stands out as a notable bastion of Clinton strength against both Sanders and Trump. In the Democratic primary, upper middle-class and upper class, educated white voters voted for one of their own in Clinton, and they did so in the general as well. Sanders and Trump were both viewed as radicals (from the left and right) by these voters, while Clinton, a neighbor of theirs, was the "safe" choice.

[TDAS04]

California: Hispanics and Asians put her over the edge at least in 2008.  

New York: Home state plus lots of pro-establishment Democrats.

Massachusetts: Not too sure.  In 2008, she might of won due to more blue-collar Democrats.  White-collar, latte-liberals swung towards her in many places in 2016.

[buritobr]

In 2008, Hillary won with hispanics, so that probably swung New York and California towards her.

Are the democratic voters in republican states more leftist?

Yes.

I looked at the county map for the 2016 primary in New York, and it closely parallels the county map in the general election. Clinton won the state by almost the same margin in both the primary and the general, receiving 58% against Sanders and 59% against Trump. Both Sanders and Trump swept the vast majority of upstate New York, places where Clinton is strongly disliked (which is ironic, given that she won those counties in her 2006 re-election to the Senate, but that was before Benghazi and the e-mail scandal). Clinton, on her part, dominated in NYC, the major upstate urban centers, and the NYC suburbs, especially her home of Westchester County, where she got more than 60% of the vote against both Sanders and Trump. It wouldn't surprise me if at least some of the upstate Democratic primary voters went for Trump in the general against her, particularly since Chuck Schumer won most of the counties that she lost badly in.

I looked at the NY county map now. Yeah, it looks like a general election map, in which Sanders is the republican candidate. Hillary had bigger margins in New York and Bronx than she had in Kings and Queens, places as more rich people live.

[Calthrina950]

In 2008, Hillary won with hispanics, so that probably swung New York and California towards her.

Are the democratic voters in republican states more leftist?

Yes.

I looked at the county map for the 2016 primary in New York, and it closely parallels the county map in the general election. Clinton won the state by almost the same margin in both the primary and the general, receiving 58% against Sanders and 59% against Trump. Both Sanders and Trump swept the vast majority of upstate New York, places where Clinton is strongly disliked (which is ironic, given that she won those counties in her 2006 re-election to the Senate, but that was before Benghazi and the e-mail scandal). Clinton, on her part, dominated in NYC, the major upstate urban centers, and the NYC suburbs, especially her home of Westchester County, where she got more than 60% of the vote against both Sanders and Trump. It wouldn't surprise me if at least some of the upstate Democratic primary voters went for Trump in the general against her, particularly since Chuck Schumer won most of the counties that she lost badly in.

I looked at the NY county map now. Yeah, it looks like a general election map, in which Sanders is the republican candidate. Hillary had bigger margins in New York and Bronx than she had in Kings and Queens, places as more rich people live.

That's also true. Manhattan, in fact, was the only NYC borough where Clinton received a higher percentage of the vote than Obama did in 2012. Manhattan, interestingly enough, was also the only county in the state where Clinton outperformed Chuck Schumer; she received 86.56%, while Schumer got 86.38%. Schumer ran significantly ahead of Clinton in Kings (where he got 86.03% compared to Clinton's 79.51%) and Queens (where he got 82.67% compared to Clinton's 75.35%). And of course, he vastly outperformed Clinton in Upstate New York, winning a number of counties (i.e. Lewis, Herkimer, Delaware, Schoharie) where Trump got more than 60% of the vote.

[SInNYC]

Hillary Clinton won the democratic primaries in New York, Massachusetts and California in 2008 and 2016. These states are heavy democratic. Since these states vote left, wouldn't we expect a better perfomance of the left in the primaries?
Obama and Sanders won the democratic primaries in some states which are heavy republican. Are the democratic voters in republican states more leftist?

To some degree, yes. It comes down to identity vs ideology. Many D states, especially coastal ones, are D by virtue of being racially diverse. D voters in mostly white R states are D because of ideology. NY is a solid blue state by virtue of minorities in NYC, but there arent that many white liberals in the state outside the city. And even in the city, a Republican who hasn't made his career out of scapegoating minorities can win. Same for CA though with Latinos. This is why I always distinguish [non-atlas] blue states from liberal states.

There is also another effect with centrists joining the dominant party by default, especially in big cities. In NYC it really doesnt make sense to register as anything but D.

[Calthrina950]

Hillary Clinton won the democratic primaries in New York, Massachusetts and California in 2008 and 2016. These states are heavy democratic. Since these states vote left, wouldn't we expect a better perfomance of the left in the primaries?
Obama and Sanders won the democratic primaries in some states which are heavy republican. Are the democratic voters in republican states more leftist?

To some degree, yes. It comes down to identity vs ideology. Many D states, especially coastal ones, are D by virtue of being racially diverse. D voters in mostly white R states are D because of ideology. NY is a solid blue state by virtue of minorities in NYC, but there arent that many white liberals in the state outside the city. And even in the city, a Republican who hasn't made his career out of scapegoating minorities can win. Same for CA though with Latinos. This is why I always distinguish [non-atlas] blue states from liberal states.

There is also another effect with centrists joining the dominant party by default, especially in big cities. In NYC it really doesnt make sense to register as anything but D.

This is certainly true. Teton County, Wyoming and Blaine County, Idaho, for example, are dominated by white liberals of the type that constitute the Democratic Party's elites, and at great ideological odds with the staunch white conservatives who are their neighbors.