Pride and prejudice: Florida is the most politically divided state, study shows

Source: The Atlantic

Could Florida be the most politically divided state in the union?

A new study from public opinion firm PredictWise found profound political prejudice within Florida counties.

The Atlantic consulted with the firm to create a national survey looking at political tolerance, or affective polarization, and map it nationwide. The final result showed Florida the only state where every county lands in the 91st percentile or higher.

“Florida is very consistent — and fairly prejudiced — from place to place,” The Atlantic notes.

Perhaps that should come as no surprise in a swing state that in November saw three statewide races go to recounts. Still, seeing the difference in Florida on a colored map that denotes divisiveness makes the Sunshine State stand out from neighbors.

Discounting small counties where data precision is statistically more questionable, the most intolerant community in America remains outside Florida.

That dishonor goes to Suffolk County in Massachusetts.

But political prejudice still shows up in high rates among Florida counties large and small. In terms of polarization, Broward and Gadsden counties make it to the 100th percentile. Washington County, it turns out, boasts the most political tolerance of opposing views in Florida, but is still more intolerant than 91 percent of counties nationwide.

So what’s that mean? And how was this calculated?

PredictWise analysts explain they surveyed 2,000 individuals nationwide on reactions to social situations. Those include inquiries like how an individual would react to a family member marrying someone from another political party. Or whether they use words like ‘selfish’ or ‘patriotic’ to describe rank-and-file members of their own and other parties.

The study also looks at media exposure to polarizing news sources and local broadcast markets.

Also, researchers analyzed the demographic results, comparing them to community profiles nationwide.

Overall, the analysis found the most politically intolerant groups to include whites, those with high education levels, those in urban areas and older voters.

Of course, Florida as a retirement haven boasts many of those populations in abundance.

Palm Beach County, a wealthy community that includes where President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, come in at the 99th percentile. Sumter County, home to most of The Villages retirement development, comes in at the 96th percentile.

Leon County, home Florida’s capital city Tallahassee, falls in the 99th percentile. Washington, D.C. falls in the 98th.

Nationwide, some states show much more tolerance of other points of view. And some results may surprise.

Most of upstate New York falls into the lower 10 percentiles regarding polarization, and even on Manhattan, there’s less political prejudice than anywhere in Florida.

South Carolina, like Florida, appears very polarized, but North Carolina looks much less so.

Somehow, the swingiest of swing states remains one of the least tolerant of opposing points of view. But that’s a quality it shares with one reliably blue part of America.

“In other places, including much of Massachusetts and Florida, people appear to have far less tolerance for political difference,” The Atlantic notes.