Is California a very liberal state ?

Im a conservative and i live here and its tough...being surrounded by so many liberals. There are conservatives here but there just not as LOUD as liberals. Their voice gets lost in all the stink that liberals and gays make, with Hollywood backing them up.

Although California is depicted on the electoral college map as a "solid blue" (Democratic) state, the internal dynamics are far more complicated than that. The Democrats tend to win because they have a stranglehold on Los Angeles and San Francisco. But moderate Republicans, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, always have a chance to score an upset.

Los Angeles County (10.4 million residents) and the San Francisco Bay Area (7.6 million residents) are both liberal strongholds. Indeed, when you combine these two urban areas, they account for over half of the state's total population. Yet, they occupy less than 10% of California's land mass.

The rest of California trends conservative, especially Orange County, the Central Valley, and the Mojave Desert. The sparsely populated "rural north" (near the Oregon border) also votes Republican by overwhelmingly large margins.

The cities of Sacramento, Santa Barbara, and San Diego are the closest thing California has to "swing" districts. Sacramento and Santa Barbara are slightly more Democratic. While San Diego is slightly more Republican. But they can go either way depending on the momentum of a particular campaign.

yes liberals tend for some reason to live buy the ocean
conservatives live more inland

key word tend not all people are like that no hate mail please

Actually, California is a lot like the other West Coast states: fairly conservative once you get outside the big cities. Most people see these states as overwhelmingly "blue," but if you were to break them down by county, the map would be more red than blue. It just happens to be the case that the blue counties have a lot more people.

Take a drive through eastern Washington, eastern Oregon or California's Central Valley. You'll see a whole lot of yards with McCain signs.

And even the big cities are often 60-40 or 70-30 in their breakdown of Democrats to Republicans. That's still millions of conservatives right there in the so-called hardcore liberal areas.

Let me put it to you this way.....I live in the South. I went to visit San Fran about six months ago. I don't think I saw a single conservative there. Everyone was like a hippie...it was like going back into the 1960's! We were on a trolley touring and we'd see mass amounts of people just sitting around doing absolutely nothing....drinking coffee...talking, etc. We were like..."Don't these people work? Oh no I guess they don't...they live off the government and our taxes."

Demographically, California is quite diverse. There are pockets of conservatives in the farming communities and in many suburban/exurb areas (which tend to skew to the right). Major urban centres tend to be more liberal.

I lived in San Francisco for several years; while the city residents are overwhelmingly liberal, there are areas to the east, north, and south of the city that are less so. Keep in mind that, in the 1990's San Francisco had a Republican mayor (Frank Jordan).

Here in Canada...while Toronto is overwhelmingly Liberal, there are pockets of Conservatives. Same with Alberta; while Alberta is, in the main, Conservative, there are Liberal areas (we have a Conservative Party, a Liberal Party, and three other political parties that have seats in Parliament).

California is a liberal state when compared to the rest of the United States, but is still conservative when compared with other countries. Look at the compass at the bottom of this page to see where American politicians appear in the political spectrum. There is also a quiz to see how you compare.

To answer your question, yes, California is a liberal state. We all however are NOT as Mrs. Smith portrays. My husband has worked for 30 years at an engineering job, I have taught for 13 years, and now work in a different field, our son got a job straight out of college, which leaves our daughter, who just graduated from college in an economy that is less than desirable also looking for a job. We work and pay taxes, very high taxes: federal, state and income taxes. These afford us to have a state where many people flock to seeking the golden or free life. I guess it happens for some, but that is not what California is about. We are more open to thinking things through. What something is, is not always what it appears to be. We are open to second-chances and one book does not tell us all how to live. There is a bit of everything here, and if you are open and smart you will appreciate all that California has to offer - besides our warm and friendly people, we have a state that is filled to the brim with geographical treasures that are surpassed by none. The state economy is compared to a separate nation, which I heard ranks fifth. California boasts the number one public university of the nation, and that is but one of the extensive university system our taxes support. Are there conservatives in our state? Yes, there are even Republicans! I have not only met them and know them, but I consider some my friends. That is why many live here - it is called diversity, and it thrives in acceptance and understanding of both sides.

Thank you for asking, especially on such an important day!

Probably, but I am not 100% on it

Sounds interested