Latinos make up the largest group in both states, a little over 40% of the population in each, according to the most recent Census. In the last few decades, California, and increasingly Texas, have benefited from a boom in tech and venture capital. The early economies of California and Texas were defined by cattle and agriculture and later oil. If it weren’t for their political reputations, it might be easier to see California and Texas as twins, not foils.īoth western states, with their dramatic landscapes, used to be part of Mexico both have brutal colonial pasts, with Spaniards and later Americans waging wars of removal against Native peoples. Those leanings tip politics in each state, empowering conservative Republicans in Texas and liberal Democrats in California who have driven policy in opposite directions, magnifying differences between two states that otherwise have much in common. Texans, on average, lean a few points to the right, Californians, a few more points to the left. Overall, the poll illuminates one of the central aspects of America’s political divide: Rather than huge splits in public opinion, the gap between America’s quintessential red and blue states comes down to tipping points. Religious belief is a major factor in why white residents of Texas and California hold opposing views, the poll indicates. The poll shows that one demographic group has an outsized impact in widening the political gulf between the two states - white residents, who also are more likely to vote than other racial groups.
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