Why is North Dakota more progressive than South Dakota?

[Unsane]

This is something that's puzzled me.

[FrenchieCat]

1. Cause it is North

and not South? :shrug:

[Avalon6]

2. Same reason why North Carolina is competetive and not South Carolina?

[Thrill]

8. No it can't compare to NC. NC is more of a melting pot. People from up north

come here to retire, much like FL. Also when people graduate from College, NC is one the top places they go to live. Its going to continue to trend blue.

[Quixote1818]

3. Closer to Canada? nt

[dubeskin]

4. Because North everything have been the leaders of change n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. Because they can see Canada from their house

and the other state can't. No, really North Dakota does have more contact with Canada
and gets Canadian TV and Radio.

[falcon97]

11. LMAO!

That line might be the best of the campaign.

[abumbyanyothername]

6. North Dakota may be getting help in the Obama direction

because McCain is horrible on agriculture (and always has been). I mean horrible if you are a wheat farmer, but probably right in terms of the best policy for the nation as a whole. North Dakota may be an ethanol state.

South Dakota probably gets a boost (for Obama) with the native population, but I heard a guy on Colbert state that McCain is actually pretty good on Native American issues. Not sure (because I moved out of the midwest 12 years ago) but I don't think S. Dak. has ethanol.

McCain is horrible on ethanol.

[personanongrata]

7. some thoughts

It might have to do with who settled where. ND is the state with the highest percentage of Norwegians and Scandinavians. South Dakota doesn't have the same fertile farming land (the Red River); they have prairie. Fargo is on the border with a city in Minnesota, South Dakota has no border city. It may be slightly because there is some commonality between ND & MN that SD doesn't have.

[illuminaughty]

9. Welcome to DU

Informative post!

[Unsane]

10. thanks

[David__77]

12. SW S Dakota is more like Wyoming politically.

Rapid City area reminds me more of Wyoming in its sensibility than anything else. The midwest progressive trend is more in effect in the east of the state. North Dakota is more uniformly "midwestern."

[OmahaBlueDog]

13. Ed Schultz???