Liberal is a four letter word.
Citing polling data culled from a year of nationwide surveys, Gallup found that there are more self-identified conservatives than liberals in every single state in America. Even in deep blue Rhode Island, where 29.3% called themselves liberals, even more people, 29.9%, identified as conservative.
That does not mean that that there are more Republicans than Democrats. but it does show that the conservative brand has a far more positive connotation than liberal does. Republicans — especially those with presidential aspirations — are quick to tout their conservatism at events like CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Committee. Democrats, meanwhile, are hardly rushing to form LPAC.
The state-by-state breakdown has some interesting revelations, though the lists of the most conservative and most liberal states holds few surprises.
Mississippians, for example, aren’t hardly shy when it comes to identifying themselves as conservatives. Fully half of all adults in Mississippi self-identify as conservatives — the highest percentage in the nation. It’s the first time in the three years Gallup has found that a majority of any state’s residents have identified as conservatives.
Idaho came in a close second, with 48.5% of the state calling themselves conservatives; followed by Alabama, where 48.3% of adults said the same.
As for the liberals, the 30.5% of Vermont residents who described themselves as such make it the most liberal state in the nation, followed by Rhode Island (29.3%), Massachusetts (28%), and Connecticut (26.7%). The Sistrict of Columbia, thought not technically a state, had the highest percentage of liberals, at 41.1%.
The Gallup data is based on interviews conducted last year among 180,000 adults.
