Where is the least politically prejudiced place in America? According to an analysis conducted for The Atlantic by PredictWise, it’s Watertown, New York: a nine-square-mile town with a population of 26,000.
Using information from a national poll and voter-registration files, the analysis found that residents of Jefferson County tend to be more tolerant of political differences. In Watertown, residents expressed being less upset if a family member decided to marry someone with opposing political views. This may be a rare sentiment in the U.S. According to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute and The Atlantic, 35% of Republics and 45% of Democrats said they’d be upset if their child married a partner from the opposite party.
The analysis also found that the most politically prejudiced Americans tend to be white, highly educated, located in urban centers, and politically engaged. Watertown, a generally conservative and rural place, is politically diverse, making the likelihood of interacting with opposing political views more common.
We discuss the research and examine political tolerance across the country.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guest:
Amanda Ripley, journalist, author and senior fellow at Emerson Collective, an organization focused on social change; her recent piece for The Atlantic is “The Least Politically Prejudiced Place in America;” she tweets