The number of conservative-leaning states has dropped to its lowest point in 10 years
- The number of conservative-leaning states has dropped to its lowest point since 2008, sitting at 39 in 2017, according to Gallup.
- The number of net conservatives also decreased in every state except four.
- The acceptance of "liberal" as a self-identifier has steadily grown since 2000.
The number of conservative-leaning states has dropped to its lowest point since polling began in 2008, according to a new Gallup poll.
The number of states that were more conservative than liberal in 2017 was 39, down from 44 in 2016, while the number of liberal states sat at nine after more than doubling since the previous year. Gallup stated that a combined 35% of people surveyed in 2017 identified as some level of conservative, 26% identified as liberal, and another 35% said they were "moderate."
Gallup weighted each state's sample size so that it reflected the overall demographics of the state. While many states that lean blue have large liberal populations, Gallup's interviews were conducted to reflect states' demographic diversities, so in many cases these states tended to lean conservative in their data.
In addition to the general drop in conservative-leaning states, the net number of conservatives also declined in every state except Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, and Kansas. The largest drops in the net number of people who leaned conservative occurred in Georgia, California, Oregon, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Vermont and Delaware.
The poll's historic data also shows the gradual growth of liberalism as a widely accepted self-identifier. Pew Research Center's data shows that the number of people comfortable with identifying as liberals has grown steadily across the US since 2000.
