(Millions of residents in blue states have migrated to red states within the past 30 years, according to federal data.
A policy group that analyzed the data says it’s a clear sign that many Americans find Democratic policies unlivable.
The migration has been, in large part, an economic boon for the new destinations. Yet, the increasingly narrow political margins in several of the states might suggest that some blue-state refugees are bringing the woke mind virus with them, ruining the lives of others in the process.
From 1990 to 2021, a total of 13 million people left California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts. They migrated to Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, and South Carolina over the same period.
American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Edward J. Pinto attributes this “blue state exodus” to progressive policies, with high crime, unaffordable housing, high taxes and rising levels of homelessness and unemployment driving away residents.
“The trend is undeniable: Americans are fleeing progressive states for conservative ones, and they are bringing their incomes with them,” Pinto wrote in a recent op-ed, published in Newsweek.
The American Enterprise Institute is a free market think tank “dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world,” according to its website.
IRS data revealed that California led the nation in net outward migration between 1990 and 2021, hemorrhaging a total of 4.6 million people during that time. New York lost roughly the same number, many of whom moved to Florida.
More than 2 million residents have left Illinois during the past 30 years, and 1 million have left New Jersey. Massachusetts saw an exodus of 800,000, with 50,000 leaving in 2020 alone, during the height of draconian COVID lockdowns.
Pinto said economically and socially attractive policies in red states, including lowering taxes, enacting tough on crime measures, supporting school choice, and enforcing immigration laws, are likely the reason so many blue state residents have migrated.
Unless Democratic governors shift course, Pinto said, their “states will face a doom loop of permanent decline due to shrinking populations, rising subsidies, diminished economic vitality, increasing poverty, and a less prosperous future.”
But red states should be wary of celebrating too soon, given the political trends in several of the destination states, which suggest that some are coming for the cheaper cost of living but bringing their politics with them.
North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada all were considered top battleground states in the most recent election, and voters in all three split their tickets, supporting Republican Donald Trump for president while backing Democrats for top Senate and gubernatorial elections down-ballot.
Texas and Tennessee have been able to remain in the red category for now, although Democrats have made flipping Texas one of their long-term goals. Doing so would all but assure permanent presidential landslides for their candidates, given the state’s large number of electors.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
