Why is Mohave, Arizona's Reddest County, so Pro-Weed?

[E-Dawg]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohave_County,_Arizona
Mohave County in western Arizona (home to Kingman, Bullhead, & Lake Havasu City) voted 73% for Trump in 2016 & 75% for Trump in 2020. And despite it being such a strongly Republican County, it was also surprisingly friendly to cannabis legalization on those two same ballots it voted for Trump so strongly.

https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/arizona-ballot-measure-205-legalize-marijuana
In 2016, Proposition 205 (which would have legalized recreational cannabis) failed statewide 48.7/51.3. It only failed in Mohave by 19 votes out of about 72,000, so Mohave voted 50/50 on it, and slightly more pro-weed than the state as a whole. Mohave County was the 3rd most pro-weed county in the state only behind the two counties the proposition won in (Coconino & Pima). This was in spite of it also being Trump's best county in the state on the same ballot.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-arizona-proposition-207-legalize-recreational-marijuana.html
In 2020, Proposition 207 (a similar proposition also legalizing recreational cannabis) passed statewide 60.0/40.0 . It once again performed slightly better in Mohave County than it did statewide, getting 60.1 percent of the vote. This made it the 4th most pro-weed county in the state this time around, only behind Coconino, Pima, & Maricopa. It was once again Trump's best county in the state. Since only 23.67% of the county's voters supported Biden on this ballot while 60.1% supported weed, it's almost certainly the case mathematically that the majority of the county's voters in favor of the proposition also voted for Trump.

So overall, Mohave voted far more pro-weed in both propositions than any other Republican leaning county in the state did (or the state as a whole), despite also being much more Republican than any other county in the state. I am curious what local factors lead to such a large amount of Republican voters in this county supporting cannabis legalization, in contrast to other areas in Arizona & nationwide.

[Arizona Iced Tea]

The funny thing is that if only Trump voters participated in that election weed would have likely passed in 2016. It only failed because it took major hits in counties Hillary Clinton carried.

[Lambsbread]

probably cuz weed is friggin awesome

[E-Dawg]

The funny thing is that if only Trump voters participated in that election weed would have likely passed in 2016. It only failed because it took major hits in counties Hillary Clinton carried.

The only two counties that voted for weed in 2016 voted for Hillary Clinton, not Trump. I don't see any evidence of this claim. Democratic voters generally are much more friendly to cannabis legalization than Republican voters are, though there are plenty of exceptions on both sides (Ohio proposition results showed that a lot of voters voted Pro-Life/Pro-Weed, and a lot voted Pro-Choice/Anti-Weed)

[Alben Barkley]

The funny thing is that if only Trump voters participated in that election weed would have likely passed in 2016. It only failed because it took major hits in counties Hillary Clinton carried.

The only two counties that voted for weed in 2016 voted for Hillary Clinton, not Trump. I don't see any evidence of this claim. Democratic voters generally are much more friendly to cannabis legalization than Republican voters are, though there are plenty of exceptions on both sides (Ohio proposition results showed that a lot of voters voted Pro-Life/Pro-Weed, and a lot voted Pro-Choice/Anti-Weed)

That's because there is no evidence, and in fact tons of evidence to the contrary. But see, that doesn't matter to Republicans. They'll just shamelessly make s--t up and pull it out of their ass to fit a preconceived, fictional narrative. That's basically their whole MO nowadays.

[Arizona Iced Tea]

The funny thing is that if only Trump voters participated in that election weed would have likely passed in 2016. It only failed because it took major hits in counties Hillary Clinton carried.

The only two counties that voted for weed in 2016 voted for Hillary Clinton, not Trump. I don't see any evidence of this claim. Democratic voters generally are much more friendly to cannabis legalization than Republican voters are, though there are plenty of exceptions on both sides (Ohio proposition results showed that a lot of voters voted Pro-Life/Pro-Weed, and a lot voted Pro-Choice/Anti-Weed)

The Dem base in AZ is based out of Pima County and the Northern Indian counties. It failed miserably up there and Pima County barely passed it compared to the presidential margin.

[E-Dawg]

The funny thing is that if only Trump voters participated in that election weed would have likely passed in 2016. It only failed because it took major hits in counties Hillary Clinton carried.

The only two counties that voted for weed in 2016 voted for Hillary Clinton, not Trump. I don't see any evidence of this claim. Democratic voters generally are much more friendly to cannabis legalization than Republican voters are, though there are plenty of exceptions on both sides (Ohio proposition results showed that a lot of voters voted Pro-Life/Pro-Weed, and a lot voted Pro-Choice/Anti-Weed)

The Dem base in AZ is based out of Pima County and the Northern Indian counties. It failed miserably up there and Pima County barely passed it compared to the presidential margin.

As I said, there are exceptions on both sides. A lot of rural Trump supporters in Arizona do support weed, especially in Mohave County. A lot of Native & urban democrats in Arizona opposed weed. My gut instinct guess is that 2020 Trump voters in Arizona voted against weed about 40/60 while the Biden voters voted for it about 80/20. (Remember that the heavily Native Dem County that voted against it, Apache, has a very low population. And the other 2 counties that opposed it were both Trump counties.)

[Sestak]

Yeah, this idea is only remotely accepted anywhere because of the way Arizona's counties are set up. A basic application of common sense (and, you know, voting patterns on this issue historically) indicates that one of the largest and most stringent anti-weed bastions in the state would be Republican voters in Maricopa. Suburban republicans tend to be much more stringent on this issue than rural Republicans; doubly so with these kinds of suburbs.

[E-Dawg]

Yeah, this idea is only remotely accepted anywhere because of the way Arizona's counties are set up. A basic application of common sense (and, you know, voting patterns on this issue historically) indicates that one of the largest and most stringent anti-weed bastions in the state would be Republican voters in Maricopa. Suburban republicans tend to be much more stringent on this issue than rural Republicans; doubly so with these kinds of suburbs.

True, it's hard to blame people for having misconceptions about weed support in Arizona considering that the most Republican county in Arizona (Mohave) is one of the most pro-weed in the state, and the 2nd most Democratic county in Arizona (Apache) was one of only 3 in the state to vote against weed in 2020. There's definitely some unique voter types here bucking the overall trends.

[Mr. Smith]

Yeah, this idea is only remotely accepted anywhere because of the way Arizona's counties are set up. A basic application of common sense (and, you know, voting patterns on this issue historically) indicates that one of the largest and most stringent anti-weed bastions in the state would be Republican voters in Maricopa. Suburban republicans tend to be much more stringent on this issue than rural Republicans; doubly so with these kinds of suburbs.

True, it's hard to blame people for having misconceptions about weed support in Arizona considering that the most Republican county in Arizona (Mohave) is one of the most pro-weed on the state, and the 2nd most Democratic county in Arizona (Apache) was one of only 3 in the state to vote against weed in 2020. There's definitely some unique voter types here bucking the overall trends.

   Apache has a very Mormon/redneck sort of atmosphere at the Southern end.  My grandma is from there, much of my very distant family is still there, touting the old Udall line.  It's a smaller portion than it is in Navajo County where Snowflake is,  but it does play a part.

[E-Dawg]

Yeah, this idea is only remotely accepted anywhere because of the way Arizona's counties are set up. A basic application of common sense (and, you know, voting patterns on this issue historically) indicates that one of the largest and most stringent anti-weed bastions in the state would be Republican voters in Maricopa. Suburban republicans tend to be much more stringent on this issue than rural Republicans; doubly so with these kinds of suburbs.

True, it's hard to blame people for having misconceptions about weed support in Arizona considering that the most Republican county in Arizona (Mohave) is one of the most pro-weed on the state, and the 2nd most Democratic county in Arizona (Apache) was one of only 3 in the state to vote against weed in 2020. There's definitely some unique voter types here bucking the overall trends.

   Apache has a very Mormon/redneck sort of atmosphere at the Southern end.  My grandma is from there, much of my very distant family is still there, touting the old Udall line.  It's a smaller portion than it is in Navajo County where Snowflake is,  but it does play a part.

Do these redneck/Mormon people you are talking about vote Democratic?

[Mr. Smith]

Yeah, this idea is only remotely accepted anywhere because of the way Arizona's counties are set up. A basic application of common sense (and, you know, voting patterns on this issue historically) indicates that one of the largest and most stringent anti-weed bastions in the state would be Republican voters in Maricopa. Suburban republicans tend to be much more stringent on this issue than rural Republicans; doubly so with these kinds of suburbs.

True, it's hard to blame people for having misconceptions about weed support in Arizona considering that the most Republican county in Arizona (Mohave) is one of the most pro-weed on the state, and the 2nd most Democratic county in Arizona (Apache) was one of only 3 in the state to vote against weed in 2020. There's definitely some unique voter types here bucking the overall trends.

   Apache has a very Mormon/redneck sort of atmosphere at the Southern end.  My grandma is from there, much of my very distant family is still there, touting the old Udall line.  It's a smaller portion than it is in Navajo County where Snowflake is,  but it does play a part.

Do these redneck/Mormon people you are talking about vote Democratic?

   no. If you look at the precincts for that county, you'll see mostly a sea of blue until about where Show Low and St. John's are.   Then it looks red as anywhere else rural.  Unless the initiative also follows the lines again, it's most likely that this played a part, given general Republican resistance to weed.

[E-Dawg]

Yeah, this idea is only remotely accepted anywhere because of the way Arizona's counties are set up. A basic application of common sense (and, you know, voting patterns on this issue historically) indicates that one of the largest and most stringent anti-weed bastions in the state would be Republican voters in Maricopa. Suburban republicans tend to be much more stringent on this issue than rural Republicans; doubly so with these kinds of suburbs.

True, it's hard to blame people for having misconceptions about weed support in Arizona considering that the most Republican county in Arizona (Mohave) is one of the most pro-weed on the state, and the 2nd most Democratic county in Arizona (Apache) was one of only 3 in the state to vote against weed in 2020. There's definitely some unique voter types here bucking the overall trends.

   Apache has a very Mormon/redneck sort of atmosphere at the Southern end.  My grandma is from there, much of my very distant family is still there, touting the old Udall line.  It's a smaller portion than it is in Navajo County where Snowflake is,  but it does play a part.

Do these redneck/Mormon people you are talking about vote Democratic?

   no. If you look at the precincts for that county, you'll see mostly a sea of blue until about where Show Low and St. John's are.   Then it looks red as anywhere else rural.  Unless the initiative also follows the lines again, it's most likely that this played a part, given general Republican resistance to weed.

I am pretty interested as to why so many Democratic voters in Apache opposed weed, like how so many Republican voters in Mohave supported weed.

[Since I'm the mad scientist proclaimed by myself]

Yeah, this idea is only remotely accepted anywhere because of the way Arizona's counties are set up. A basic application of common sense (and, you know, voting patterns on this issue historically) indicates that one of the largest and most stringent anti-weed bastions in the state would be Republican voters in Maricopa. Suburban republicans tend to be much more stringent on this issue than rural Republicans; doubly so with these kinds of suburbs.

True, it's hard to blame people for having misconceptions about weed support in Arizona considering that the most Republican county in Arizona (Mohave) is one of the most pro-weed on the state, and the 2nd most Democratic county in Arizona (Apache) was one of only 3 in the state to vote against weed in 2020. There's definitely some unique voter types here bucking the overall trends.

   Apache has a very Mormon/redneck sort of atmosphere at the Southern end.  My grandma is from there, much of my very distant family is still there, touting the old Udall line.  It's a smaller portion than it is in Navajo County where Snowflake is,  but it does play a part.

Do these redneck/Mormon people you are talking about vote Democratic?

   no. If you look at the precincts for that county, you'll see mostly a sea of blue until about where Show Low and St. John's are.   Then it looks red as anywhere else rural.  Unless the initiative also follows the lines again, it's most likely that this played a part, given general Republican resistance to weed.

I am pretty interested as to why so many Democratic voters in Apache opposed weed, like how so many Republican voters in Mohave supported weed.

Democratic strength in Apache comes from most of its population being part of the Navajo nation. And according to this the Navajo nation bans alcohol use. People who would vote for alcohol bans aren't the best audience for weed legalization.

[xavier110]

There is nothing to do in Mohave but smoke weed. That’s why. The Republican voters there are not pearl-clutching white picket fence doctors like in Maricopa, to say the least.

More seriously, it’s an interesting question. We know support for weed is tied largely to age. The measure overwhelmingly passed in Kingman, which is what delivered the strong county margin. There’s some libertarian spillover, IMO, from its proximity to Vegas. Kingman also has a meth problem, so weed isn’t seen as a boogeyman. Kingman is akin to a small city in KY/OH with a kinda blue collar vibe where folks are conservative but seek relief through ganja.

Kingman is also relatively young, population-wise, for a blood red AZ city. Only 15 percent ish is over 65.

Other counties like Coconino have a lot of Natives, Yavapai is where people go to die from old age, etc…

[Joe McCarthy Was Right]

Lake Havasu is a popular spring break spot. Voters probably saw it as an economic plus.

[E-Dawg]

The measure overwhelmingly passed in Kingman, which is what delivered the strong county margin.

Is there a results breakdown by city that you could link to? And you gave great points, thank you! Though I will point out that Kingman is only a 7th of the county population.

[RI]

The measure overwhelmingly passed in Kingman, which is what delivered the strong county margin.

Is there a results breakdown by city that you could link to? And you gave great points, thank you! Though I will point out that Kingman is only a 7th of the county population.

For 2016, Mohave County's precincts don't follow municipal boundaries, but we can approximately say:

Bullhead City
Trump 68.6, Clinton 26.8
Yes 51.2, No 48.8 (+44.0 margin over Clinton)

Kingman
Trump 71.6, Clinton 21.3
No 50.2, Yes 49.8 (+49.9 margin over Clinton)

Lake Havasu City
Trump 75.7, Clinton 19.8
No 52.1, Yes 47.9 (+51.8 margin over Clinton)

Colorado City (FLDS country)
Trump 83.7, Johnson 10.3, Clinton 2.8
No 51.1, Yes 48.9 (+78.7 margin over Clinton)

The measure bombed in the two more Native precincts while doing very well in rural Mohave County. In the non-Native rural precincts, Yes won 52.2-47.8 while Trump won 73.9-21.7, which is a 56.7% margin over Clinton. One rural precinct (Oatman) was won by Trump 79.4-16.7 but voted Yes 63.0-37.0 which is an 88.8% margin over Clinton.

In 2020, we saw similar patterns of overperformance for Yes relative to Biden:

Bullhead City
Trump 69.8, Biden 28.7
Yes 62.1, No 37.9 (+65.3 over Biden)

Kingman
Trump 73.9, Biden 24.2
Yes 58.9, Biden 41.1 (+67.5 over Biden)

Lake Havasu City
Trump 77.5, Biden 21.3
Yes 58.8, No 41.2 (+73.7 over Biden)

Colorado City
Trump 95.1, Biden 3.7
Yes 54.6, No 45.4 (+100.7 over Biden)

Non-Native rurals
Trump 75.2, Biden 23.5
Yes 61.9, No 38.1 (+75.4 over Biden)

Native rurals
Biden 74.6, Trump 24.1
Yes 61.1, No 38.9 (-28.3 under Biden)

[Aurelius2]

Thanks RI. Those Colorado City numbers are absolutely wild.

[PSOL]

This thread is making me wonder just how similar the Native American voters, especially on reservations, are to African American voters.

[E-Dawg]

This thread is making me wonder just how similar the Native American voters, especially on reservations, are to African American voters.

In what way? Is the evidence that African Americans are also less pro-weed than they are pro-Democratic?

[Cyrusman]

Because these voters aren't conservative for your typical social issues. Someone smoking weed doesn't bother them. They care about, economic policies, immigration, USA first, hate the D.C establishment..etc
Same reason as to why so many republicans will vote to support abortion when its just that proposition.

Being pro weed or pro choice isn't always the same as=Democrat vote.