CV NEWS FEED // A new report by demographer Lyman Stone and sociologist Brad Wilcox found that thousands of families left Minnesota in 2021 and 2022. Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz began serving as the state’s governor in 2019.
The revelation comes against the backdrop of claims by many on the left that some of the Walz administration’s “progressive” policies benefited families and children.
“You would think that Minnesota is a mecca for families, judging by the adulatory press coverage … from liberal professors and pundits,” Stone and Wilcox wrote in their report, published by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS). But observers “might be surprised to learn that Minnesota isn’t a magnet for families with children: quite the opposite, in fact.”
“More families with children moved out of Minnesota in 2021 and 2022 than moved into the state, according to our analysis of the American Community Survey,” Stone and Wilcox noted. “In fact, Minnesota ranked in the worst third for family migration, as one of 18 states in the nation that saw more families leave than move into the state.”
The researchers found that from 2021 to 2022, Minnesota saw a net loss of 4,000 families, amounting to a 0.3% decline – the 13th highest of any state in the union. In addition, of the twelve states that had the highest percentage of decline in the number of families, ten voted for President Joe Biden in 2020.
The only red states that lost more families than Minnesota during the same period were Alaska and Louisiana – both states with relatively high risks for extreme weather.
Heavily Democratic New York had a net loss of 71,000 families, topping the list with a 1.9% decline. The only state to lose more families between 2021 and 2022 was similarly deep-blue California, which lost 92,000 families – a 1.2% decline.
“Parents are not generally moving towards states with the preferred family policies of progressives,” Stone and Wilcox stressed.
“They are moving out of these states, including Democratic states, like New York, California, Massachusetts, and Oregon, all well known for their liberal family policies,” they continued:
Blue states that voted for Democratic presidential candidates in both 2016 and 2020 lost 213,000 families with children in 2021 and 2022 (a 0.7% net decline), while red states that voted for President Trump in both elections gained 181,000 families (a 0.6% net gain). Meanwhile, purple states that flipped between the two parties in the last presidential elections gained 38,000 families (a 0.4% gain).
Of the 15 states that have gained the highest percentage of families per the studies, a majority voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020.
Deep-red Idaho was the state with the highest percentage increase (2.3%) of families from 2021 to 2022.
Republicans have held the governorship and both houses of the Idaho legislature for the last 29 years. Trump carried Idaho by over 30 points in 2020 – his fifth-best performance across the country.
Among the other states in the top five – New Hampshire, Montana, South Carolina, and South Dakota – all except one were solidly Republican.
Democratic-leaning New Hampshire (which had the second-highest percentage of net gain) was the only exception. Despite voting for Biden in 2020, the state has a Republican governor, and Republicans control both houses of its state legislature.
Texas gained the highest total number of families (53,000), followed by Florida (38,000). Both states have high-profile conservative governors.
Stone and Wilcox continued:
Obviously, a lot of this movement was related to COVID, with families fleeing cities looking for suburban and rural places with more space, places where remote work for parents was easier. But predominantly red and purple states in the Sunbelt and Rocky Mountain West were also more likely to have school districts that re-opened more quickly amidst the pandemic than many blue states, as well as new school choice laws that make it easier for parents to send their kids to better schools.
“Economically, these states have also attracted parents looking for places with lower taxes and strong job growth,” the researchers added.
“Finally, red states have generally resisted letting their schools and sports be guided by avant-garde gender theories,” they noted. “All these educational, economic, and cultural factors help explain the red state appeal to families with children looking to relocate.”
In January of last year, while advocating for a $12 billion spending plan, Walz stated: “As a former teacher, coach, and parent, I have made it my mission to make Minnesota the best state in the country for kids to grow up.”
Walz has gone on to repeat this talking point in later statements.
>> A LOOK AT VP PICK WALZ’S RECORD <<
An article published on the far-left website Salon last month bore the headline “Which VP pick truly upholds family values? Experts say it’s Tim Walz all the way.”
In the piece, Salon Senior Writer Nicole Karlis argued:
Republicans have long branded themselves as the “pro-family” party, but for those following policies that actually benefit American families, they see a disconnect between rhetoric and action. When it comes to a VP pick who’s better for parents in the United States, experts say Walz is the more “family-friendly” candidate.
Further reading: Walz’s history with forced abortions
