It's like Austria. Sure, technically they're German, but they're their own thing

Hawaii would like a word.

I love classism

Okay, not my point. The point is that part of the human condition is that the more urban you are the more liberal you will be.

Someone in a rural environment does not see the problems that someone in an urban environment does which means the two groups have different priorities, look at New York. You see the same trend of blue in the cities and great big swaths of red everywhere else. Same for Washington State, same for California, really just pick a state and you're going to see this trend.

It's in no way a uniquely Southern thing. It's just the fact that if your closest neighbor is 3 miles away and you know everyone in town, the scope of your problems are going to be pretty limited. That's because you don't know anyone who has the problems the city folk are complaining about, so the magnitude of the problems are lost on you.