Western United States - Politics

Politics

The region's distance from historical centers of power in the East, and the celebrated "frontier spirit" of its settlers offer two clichés for explaining the region's independent, heterogeneous politics. Historically, the West was the first region to see widespread women's suffrage. California birthed both the property rights and conservation movements, and spawned such phenomena as the Taxpayer Revolt and the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. It has also produced three presidents: Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

The prevalence of libertarian political attitudes is widespread. For example, the majority of Western states have legalized medicinal marijuana (all but Utah, and Wyoming) and some forms of gambling (except Utah); Oregon and Washington have legalized physician-assisted suicide; Most rural counties in Nevada allow licensed brothels. There is less resistance to the legal recognition of same-sex unions: California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington recognize them.

The West Coast leans toward the Democratic Party. San Francisco's two main political parties are the Green Party and the Democratic Party. Seattle has historically been a center of radical left-wing politics. Both the Democratic leaders of the Congress are from the region: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Interior areas are more Republican, with Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming being Republican strongholds, and Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico being swing states. The state of Nevada is considered a political bell weather, having correctly voted for every president except once (in 1976) since 1912. The state of Arizona has been won by the Republican presidential candidate in every election except one since 1948, while the states of Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming have been won by the Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1964.

As the fastest-growing demographic group, Latinos are hotly contested by both parties. Immigration is an important political issue for this group. Backlash against illegal immigration led to the passage of California Proposition 187 in 1994, a ballot initiative which would have denied many public services to illegal immigrants. Association of this proposal with the California Republicans, especially incumbent governor Pete Wilson, drove many Hispanic voters to the Democrats.