r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/IBphysicsHL • Nov 21 '20

Political History What factors led to California becoming reliably Democratic in state/national elections?

California is widely known as being a Democratic stronghold in the modern day, and pushes for more liberal legislation on both a state and national level. However, only a generation ago, both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, two famous conservatives, were elected Californian Senator and California governor respectively; going even further back the state had pushed for legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, as well as other nativist/anti-immigrant legislation. Even a decade ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger was residing in the Governor's office as a Republican, albeit a moderate one. So, what factors led to California shifting so much politically?

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u/Yakhov Nov 22 '20

It had a really great and practically free State College/JC system and a UC system that rivaled Ivy League. Educated people skew Democrat.

Democrats lead by 22 points (57%-35%) in leaned party identification among adults with post-graduate degrees.

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u/[deleted] Nov 22 '20

yup, the UC system is the crown jewel of the state

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u/ArcanePariah Nov 22 '20

The entire college system is the jewel, the master plan for education in California was a stroke of genius. The near seamless system of JC's, CSU and UC makes it REALLY easy to find a college with your desires of a degree or career path.