Executive Summary: Neither left nor right, but better.
At the risk of disappointing everyone, Upstate is neither solidly red nor solidly blue.
Unfortunately, the political leanings of Upstate are somewhat irrelevant at the moment, at least on the national and statewide stage. Downstate’s political composition renders federal and most statewide contests a mere formality.
However, one of our implicit goals at Upstate Independence is to ensure that our political decisions have a tangible impact on federal and state elections and policy. So, it’s reasonable to ask what Upstate’s political profile would be if and when statehood is achieved. This question is posed in less reasonable ways from certain corners of the internet, alleging that Upstate, if it were to achieve statehood, would become a right-wing theocracy dominated by the GOP, akin to Hamas-run Gaza. Yes, we’ve received such comments, and yes, social media can be a peculiar place.
To the surprise and perhaps disappointment of all, Upstate could not be more politically centrist if it tried. As of February 2023, 35% of Upstaters are registered as Democrats, 32% as Republicans, 2% belong to the Conservative Party, with the remainder of voters registered with one of the minor parties or simply not aligned with a party (the latter accounting for 26%). When taking into account the distinction between active and inactive voters (Democrats have a slightly higher proportion of inactive voters than Republicans), Upstate is essentially politically evenly split. The closest existing state analogs are Colorado, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
How boring, right?
While this division may partially explain some of the dysfunction we observe in much of our local government, I believe it presents an opportunity.
We must admit that at Upstate Independence, we have set an ambitious task for ourselves. It’s admirable to strive for great and noble things, but I have to acknowledge that the creation of a new state is a slightly more challenging goal to achieve than, say, a local park beautification campaign (though we do love and support our local parks). However, to achieve this ambitious goal, we must be prepared to work with people genuinely interested in creating a better future for Upstate, regardless of their political party. This takes discipline and intense focus upon on our over-arching objective.
Here, I cannot help but think of my time in the Marine Corps. I believe that the American military is the most effective organization in uniting people from diverse racial, socio-economic, and religious backgrounds to achieve common goals. It has achieved this not through the continual implementation of “safety standdowns” and seminars imposed on its servicemembers but by inspiring its servicemembers to make sacrifices and collaborate toward a challenging and ambitious common goal.
It’s this spirit that we want to bring to Upstate Independence. By pursuing this great, difficult, and noble goal, we will create a vehicle that transcends the somewhat tired left-right divide, which, in any event, has limited applicability to state and local politics.
The goal is to present and execute a plan that isn’t necessarily explicitly left or right but is unequivocally better.
This isn’t to elide real and meaningful philosophical or political differences, but only to suggest that if we view governance exclusively through a partisan lens, it distorts basic questions such as:
• Are we being governed effectively?
• How effective are our public policies at achieving their intended goals?
• Is the objective data trending positively or negatively?
When viewed through this lens, the case for political independence for Upstate becomes undeniable. By applying this philosophy to our own organization and eventually to our new state, we will achieve the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves.
