Despite voting for a string of Republican governors in recent years, Massachusetts is known politically as being a left-leaning state. in the latest poll conducted by Gallup, it was determined that the Commonwealth is the most liberal in these states united.
According to Gallup, out of a random sample of 177,034 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C., 30.3 percent of Bay Staters describe their political views as liberal. New England neighbor Vermont followed Massachusetts with 29.8 percent. Hawaii is the third most liberal with 29.6 percent.
Peculiarly, though, more Massachusetts residents consider themselves moderate with 38.1 percent which could account for the political sentiments of governors as aforementioned. Gov. Charlie Baker, newly elected to office, is a Republican having succeeded two-time Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick.
Both senators and each representative from Massachusetts are Democrats.
“Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts and New Jersey are all high on both the moderate and the liberal list, meaning that residents in these states eschew the conservative label while being more likely than average to identify with the other two categories,” states Gallup.
The most conservative states in the country are even more entrenched in their right-wing beliefs than liberals. Almost half of Mississippi residents surveyed, 48.9 percent, are conservative followed by Alabama with 46.5 percent and Louisiana with 45.7 percent.
Delware, Rhode Island and North Dakota are the most moderate states with 43.9 percent, 41.2 percent and 40.8 percent of residents identifying as such, respectively.
“Americans have become slightly less conservative and more liberal in recent years, while at the same time, with a few exceptions, the differences in ideology across the 50 states has generally remained quite stable,” added Gallup.
It’s interesting to note, too, that each of the top 10 liberal states determined in Gallup’s poll lie on either the East or West Coast, whereas all of the most conservative are located in the Southeast or Midwest. Louisiana and South Carolina, however, area also coastal states.
