America's Ten Most Conservative Cities, Including Two in Colorado

In recent years, Colorado has been something of a purple state — a blend of Republican red and Democratic blue. But there are certainly some notable Republican strongholds that stand out on a national level. A recent study by UCLA professor Chris Tausanovitch and MIT prof Christopher Warshaw includes their ranking...

By Michael Roberts

March 2, 2015

We have a favor to ask

We're in the midst of our summer membership campaign, and we have until August 25 to raise $14,500. Your contributions are an investment in our election coverage – they help sustain our newsroom, help us plan, and could lead to an increase in freelance writers or photographers. If you value our work, please make a contribution today to help us reach our goal.

Contribute Now

Progress to goal

$14,500

$13,600

Audio By Carbonatix

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2",
          
          "watchElement": ".fdn-content-body",
          "astAdList": [
            {
              "adType": "rectangle",
              "displayTargets": "mobile"
            }
          ]
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1",
          
          "watchElement": ".fdn-content-body",
          "astAdList": [
            {
              "adType": "rectangle",
              "displayTargets": "desktop|tablet"
            },{
              "adType": "rectangle",
              "displayTargets": "desktop|tablet|mobile"
            }
          ]
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25,
          
          "watchElement": ".fdn-content-body",
          "astAdList": [
            {
              "adType": "rectangle",
              "displayTargets": "desktop|tablet"
            },{
              "adType": "rectangle",
              "displayTargets": "desktop|tablet|mobile"
            }
          ]
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25,
          
          "watchElement": ".fdn-content-body",
          "astAdList": [
            {
              "adType": "leaderboardInlineContent",
              "displayTargets": "desktop|tablet"
            },{
              "adType": "tower",
              "displayTargets": "mobile"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]

In recent years, Colorado has been something of a purple state — a blend of Republican red and Democratic blue.

But there are certainly some notable Republican strongholds that stand out on a national level.

A recent study by UCLA professor Chris Tausanovitch and MIT prof Christopher Warshaw includes their ranking of many major cities by ideology — and of the ten most conservative, two are in Colorado. There's only one other state that landed two cities in the top ten, and it's widely regarded to be the most conservative in the country.

Count down the photo-illustrated rankings below, followed by the complete Tausanovitch-Warshaw paper, which goes into detail about how the list was compiled, among many other things.
Number 1:
Mesa, Arizona

Number 2:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Number 3:
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Number 4:
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Number 5:
Jacksonville, Florida

Number 6:
Arlington, Texas

Number 7:
Anaheim, California

Number 8:
Omaha, Nebraska

Number 9:
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Number 10:
Aurora, Colorado

Representation in Municipal Government Paper.pdf

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Westword has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

Follow:

Facebook: 111180895657427

Twitter: @mikerobertscolo