Why Is Idaho so Conservative?
I recently came across a good method for discovering which stereotypes and questions exist about a certain place: just allow Google to auto-complete the phrase, “Why is [place] so _____?” I’ve discovered that people tend to wonder why Ohio is so important, why South Korea is so weird, and why Georgia is so humid. And the number one question for our current home: “Why is Idaho so… conservative?”
Idaho is one of the reddest states in our very divided nation. In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney beat Obama by over 34 points. The last time Idaho voted for a Democrat was in 1964 when it joined the rest of the nation in thumping Barry Goldwater. Idaho is currently one of only three states with all-Republican Congressmen, Senators and a Governor (Kansas and Wyoming are the others).
I’m no political scientist, and my observations aren’t in any way definitive or even very informed, but if someone were to ask me, “Hey, you spent some time there. So why is Idaho so conservative?”, I’d have three big answers:
1) Idahoans are loners. This was the last American state to be explored by settlers, and has a history in individualist industries like mining and farming. It’s underpopulated, vastly wild (over 60% of Idaho is public land), hard-to-reach and isolated. And Idahoans like it that way. Whether it’s Fish & Game agents regulating hunting, the Feds closing brothels, or Uncle Sam taking away their hard-earned cash, Idahoans mistrust anything coming out of Washington DC. Far-away legislators don’t have any idea what living here is all about, and so Idahoans want to limit federal power to the fullest extent possible… a mind-set which aligns them nicely with Republicans.
2) Idahoans are white. Overwhelmingly. In much of the state, spotting a black or Asian face on the streets is an event. Big surprise: white people vote Republican. This is the whitest place I’ve ever lived, and that’s a list which includes Northwest Ohio, Ireland and Germany!
3) Mormons. A lot of Mormons live in Idaho, having emigrated up from Utah. Some cities in the southeastern part of the state are over 97% Mormon. And that equals to 97% guaranteed votes for Republicans.
Jürgen and I are unrepentant liberals, but I never felt concerned. Idahoans have a real live-and-let-live attitude, and we never encountered any unpleasant situations during our time there, even when gingerly mixing into political conversations. Sure, folks are loudly Republican, and Fox News is often on the TV, and you hear a lot of Obama jokes, but we’ve detected very little of the ignorance or intolerance which can often be found in strictly conservative communities.
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November 5, 2012 at 9:45 pm
November 5, 2012 at 11:23 pmdee
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Fortunately for us “Blue” people in the “Red” state Idahoans there is Ada County (Boise) and Blaine County (Sun Valley/Ketchum). Both these areas have a higher-than-their-neighbors degree of education and consistently vote and live less conservatively minded. The few democrats in the legislature come from these areas.
November 5, 2012 at 11:26 pmCarolyn Walpole
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Thank you for spelling it out so succinctly. As a “Blue Girl in a Red State” I still believe it is important for my vote to be counted. Maybe, just maybe…there will come a time when more people will take a look around and recognize that the continuation of selfish exploitation of Idaho’s beautiful lands and its exceptional wildlife, will surely mean the end of that which makes Idaho the special place it still is.
November 6, 2012 at 3:23 pmTony
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Conservative yes but largely Libertarian.
November 7, 2012 at 8:09 amAngela
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My BF’s Idaho family is comprised of Seventh Day Adventist fans of the Tea Party (he is a non-religious Republican). While they have accepted this Canadian as one of their own and I love them dearly, it is best we avoid the topics of politics and social issues.
November 8, 2012 at 11:13 pmJeff
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I took your advice and tried it for Ohio…and I found out that people wonder why Ohio is so important and why Ohio is so popular. I’m cool with that…but I think the election season may have something to do with it.
November 22, 2012 at 5:47 am30Traveler
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hehe that’s funny. I tried it for New Zealand (where I’m from) and got: expensive, cold, awesome, good at rugby. The actual top results were about: passive, boring, lifeless, expensive, and racist. Not so awesome!
January 5, 2013 at 5:07 amCMartel2
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Individual liberty and personal accountability are highly valued here. That’s part of it. You’ll also find that in smaller towns, people have roles they play, be it in the local community, church or school. To have the government play these roles simply isn’t fitting. If someone if your church is sick, the community rallies around them. That’s the job of the community and the faithful; not the government. It’s a different way of life from urban centers. And I’ve lived in major urban centers from London to Southern California to Atlanta. I’ve also lived in small farming towns, Amish country, southern small towns, and the mountain west. You can really just go down the list. People don’t move to a place like Idaho to have their lives micromanaged by those who claim to know better than the populace. Some say Idahoans are isolated, which is true, but the interaction that occurs in something like checking out a the store doesn’t necessarily take on the superficial, rushed experience you see in a more urban area. There’s less social isolation and more of interest in who people are.It always amuses me to hear liberals speak about being overly educated and taking on a holier-than-thou attitude towards conservatives when this doesn’t really hold true–statistically or otherwise. Doctors–of which I am one–went for Romney by over 20%. The press won’t ever report that because it runs against the Obamacare meme, but that’s the way it is.
January 17, 2013 at 4:55 amzdv
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It’s a little misleading to conflate conservativism with Republicanism. While Idaho has always been pretty conservative, it regularly elected politicians from both parties up until the 1980s. The next time the political parties realign themselves, it wouldn’t surprise me if things change regarding how Idaho votes. I personally think it’s interesting that Montana (a state much like Idaho in many ways) now regularly elects Democrats.