The Blue-State Exodus Could Have Profound Effects on GOP Power

Americans’ interstate-migration trends since the pandemic might foretell a new demographic destiny.

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Skyline of Dallas, Texas

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Conservatives have noticed approvingly that deep-blue states such as California and New York have been losing residents to deep-red ones such as Texas and Florida since the pandemic. Many note that this points to the comparative advantage low-tax places have in attracting businesses and families. Few have noted, however, the possibly profound positive effect this migration — if it continues — will have on the Republican Party’s chances to win power.

The Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal nonprofit, recently projected that states that Joe Biden easily carried in 2020 would lose a net twelve House seats to states carried by Donald Trump. Another two seats would move from two Rust Belt swing states, Michigan and Pennsylvania, to the Sunbelt swing states of Arizona and Georgia. As a result, if this projection proves correct, a Republican candidate in 2032 would be able to capture the White House simply by winning the Trump states plus Arizona and Georgia.

Henry Olsen

About the Author

Henry Olsen

Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the author of The Working-Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism.

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