As one of the most famous megacities in the world, and among the planet’s leading entertainment capitals, the city of New York is certainly no stranger to finding itself the subject of various discussions and debates. The latest of such seems to be centered around its prevalent political affiliation. As the debates on New York City’s conservatism or liberalism continue, evidence gathered all seems to point to the latter.
New York City, New York is not a conservative city. New York City is a liberal city because the majority of residents have voted for the Democratic candidates in recent elections, including the 2020 presidential election. The mayor is currently a Democrat named Eric Adams.
There are a lot of topics that New York City votes blue on, which is not surprising. When you think of a Democratic state you think of New York and California. When you think of a Democratic city you think of New York City and Los Angeles. So, read below to dive deep and learn more about the strong blue history of this city.
Current and Historical Political Climate
Despite certain existing Republican strongholds, New York City, much like her mother state, has proven more recently to be a significantly liberal-leaning structure. So much so, in fact, that the city has not been carried by a Republican candidate in a statewide or presidential election since nearly a century ago when President Calvin Coolidge won the 5 boroughs in 1924.
However, despite that fact, the city has proven to be an important source of political income and fundraising not just for the Democratic party, but the Republican party as well, making it an important city for both conservative and liberal major political parties.
Democrat Eric Adams currently serves as the 110th mayor of the city, following his massive 2021 electoral victory in which he won an impressive 67% of the public vote. In addition to that, the Democratic party currently controls a significant majority of the existing public offices in the city.
Furthermore, in the 2012 presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama became the first democratic candidate of any political party to amass more than 80% of the total number of votes in the city. And if that was not proof enough, statistics from April 2016 suggest that 69% of registered voters in the city politically identify as Democrats, while only 10% politically identify as Republicans and have conservative values and beliefs. Also, of the 51 existing official seats on the city council, the Democratic party currently holds 46 of them, with the Republican party only holding 5.
Demographics
In recent years especially, demographics have proven to be a crucial, defining factor helping to determine the political affiliation of any particular place. Areas with a higher population or concentration of minorities tend to be politically contrasted with areas with a higher concentration of Caucasians. States with higher minority percentages tend to be Democratic, and states with a very low amount of diversity tend to be Republican.
For example, the state of Utah, while recognized and famous for many things, is not exactly known for its diversity. In fact, most will argue that the state is almost infamous for its general lack of diversity except in small pockets of space, and it is a state that has been mostly Republican since 1952. However, the city of Detroit, Michigan, where African Americans make up over 60% of the population, has historically usually been a blue constituent.
Therefore, applying this logic to the city of New York, here is the most recent demographic data of the city according to 2020 statistics:
- White (non-Hispanic): 30.9%
- Hispanic or Latino: 28.7%
- Black or African American: 20.02%
- Asian: 15.6%
- Native American: (non-Hispanic): 0.2%
In addition to the above numbers, about 37% of the city’s population is foreign-born, with there being more than 10 different regions and nationalities being represented in the city. These numbers support the widely known fact that, in addition to being the most populous city in the United States, the city of New York is also arguably the most diverse city in the country. Because New York City is so ethnically diverse and is expected to become even more so, it is no surprise that it is liberal rather than conservative.
Abortion, Taxes, Crime
These are important topics that influence parts of life and how voters vote. How you view abortion tells others about your values, taxes influence your finances which is different from liberal and conservative cities, and crime tells you about how good the city is at handling crime and helping others.
Seeing that New York City is liberal, it is no secret that the city is pro-abortion. They believe that abortion is a right for women’s health. They believe this because they care about women and want the best for them. But, that is not to say that the opposite view doesn’t want to help women, they just have a different view on how to help women.
When it was announced that the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, many protesters were on the streets of New York City, holding signs that said things like “My Body, My Choice”.
Conservatives believe that abortion is ending a human life, and instead of abortion, women should choose to do things like therapy, adoption, and more.
Taxes are another issue that people view differently depending on their political views. Democrats like higher taxes so that they can help the citizens more. But, conservatives believe that your money should stay with you, and you shouldn’t let the government have too much control over you, especially when it comes to money. In New York City
, they use different tax brackets to tax lower-income people less and higher-income people more.
Next, look at the crime rate in New York City. Crime is very important to know about before you move or live somewhere. You do not want to live somewhere that is unsafe for yourself and your family, and in a busy city like New York City, it is easy to go to a place where you will potentially be the victim of a crime.
Crime in New York City is very high, and the police department is very apologetic for that fact, and they are working on lowering the crime rate in the city. Looking at the statistics, hate crimes for many races and sexual orientations have gone up 100% (or close to it) for Hispanics, Jewish, and White people, and crimes against people that are part of the LGBTQ+ community have gone up 89%.
Population
The population of a city, much like demographics, is also a crucial determinant for assessing the political swing of any particular place. Areas with larger populations tend to be more open-minded as a result of the number of people of different ethnicities interacting, sharing their opinions, and rubbing off and influencing one another.
On the other hand, areas with a lower population tend to be closed-minded and conservative, hanging on to and refusing to let go of their traditional values and structures for newer age ideologies more aligned with the modern, changing times. Therefore, places with higher populations tend to be more liberal, and in the same vein, areas with lower populations tend to be more conservative.
New York City remains the most populous city in the United States, therefore, it should be no surprise that it is a very liberal-minded city.
2016 Presidential Election Results
The 2016 presidential election Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton emerged overwhelmingly victorious in New York City during the 2016 presidential election. She amassed a more-than-comfortable 79% of the total votes to easily defeat the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
Voter turnout in each of the boroughs in New York City varied, however, Clinton recorded overall wins in all boroughs except Staten Island, where she received 40% of the votes compared to Trump’s 57%. She recorded wins in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
2020 Presidential Election Results
In the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic party once again won the election in New York City, with the nominee Joseph Biden emerging victorious over the Republican candidate and incumbent president at the time, Donald Trump. Biden finished triumphant receiving, 76% of the overall votes cast compared to Trump’s 23%, ensuring the city continued its trend of voting for the Democratic candidate during presidential elections.
Overall, New York City, New York is a very liberal city, and it has been so for a very long time. If a Republican presidential candidate were to win the majority of votes in New York City, it would be extremely surprising, and it likely won’t happen in the near future. When most people think of extremely Democratic cities, they often think of New York, and for good reason. While there are some Republican local leaders, most of the people that are in power within the government are Democrats.
If you want to move to a bustling city where most residents have liberal political options, you should move to New York City, New York.
