*Debate Club* Addendum (Part 1.5) The Economic Impact of Political Party Control

Source: https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_trifectas

A lot of discussion occurred in the last post on this topic, and while many things still need investigation, I wanted to clear up a misunderstanding insofar as the political party control indicator went. My original source noted that it took historical control into account on a state level when making the assessment, but after an in depth investigation myself, I can only conclude that this categorization was poorly done. Many states were outright incorrectly categorized and there was no nuance given. As such, I have recreated this article with the updated political state control indicators, to see if this changes any of the factors.

Results are below, as well as the averages. My analysis will be in the discussion, as per usual.

State (and DC)Return on Tax Dollars% of State RevenueGDP Production% of National ValuePolitical Affiliation
Alabama$1.8026.61%$275,3961.10%Strong Republican
Alaska$2.4133.90%$64,2570.26%Republican
Arizona$1.7130.07%$453,6021.81%Strong Republican
Arkansas$0.7828.17%$163,7790.65%Strong Republican
California$0.6517.80%$3,558,51214.18%Strong Democratic
Colorado$0.8315.93%$480,8281.92%Strong Democratic
Connecticut$1.0420.00%$317,9071.27%Strong Democratic
Delaware$0.3229.24%$86,6730.35%Strong Democratic
DC$1.3827.65%$160,7280.64%Strong Democratic
Florida$0.7720.00%$1,371,4685.46%Strong Republican
Georgia$0.8518.77%$747,5352.98%Strong Republican
Hawaii$1.8319.19%$96,9790.39%Strong Democratic
Idaho$1.2326.94%$108,4380.43%Strong Republican
Illinois$0.6018.08%$1,024,0194.08%Strong Democratic
Indiana$0.9926.39%$452,4221.80%Strong Republican
Iowa$0.9719.88%$230,1040.92%Republican
Kansas$0.8718.26%$209,2720.83%Republican
Kentucky$1.8932.20%$258,2931.03%Republican
Lousiana$1.2533.38%$281,0471.12%Republican
Maine$1.7228.27%$83,5140.33%Leans Democratic
Maryland$1.2322.07%$465,6351.85%Democratic
Massachusetts$0.5421.39%$679,1222.71%Democratic
Michigan$0.9925.06%$615,4082.45%Republican
Minnesota$0.6919.68%$442,5281.76%Democratic
Mississippi$2.6032.41%$138,1560.55%Strong Republican
Missouri$0.8525.50%$386,3971.54%Strong Republican
Montana$1.5932.13%$64,7570.26%Republican
Nebraska$0.6418.81%$161,2600.64%Strong Republican
Nevada$0.9018.42%$213,4100.85%Leans Democratic
New Hampshire$0.9425.17%$104,1720.41%Leans Republican
New Jersey$0.5616.79%$737,6542.94%Democratic
New Mexico$3.6932.06%$122,3590.49%Democratic
New York$0.7421.06%$2,034,9128.11%Democratic
North Carolina$0.8921.97%$723,1632.88%Republican
North Dakota$1.1225.68%$74,7450.30%Strong Republican
Ohio$0.6220.95%$817,6273.26%Strong Republican
Oklahoma$1.5024.19%$242,3030.97%Strong Republican
Oregon$1.0123.19%$294,3251.17%Strong Democratic
Pennsylvania$0.9224.14%$915,4243.65%Republican
Rhode Island$0.7729.75%$70,7590.28%Strong Democratic
South Carolina$1.7122.71%$292,9321.17%Strong Republican
South Dakota$0.8332.97%$67,4890.27%Strong Republican
Tennessee$0.7822.32%$469,9381.87%Strong Republican
Texas$0.8320.49%$2,354,4559.38%Strong Republican
Utah$0.7916.08%$245,8310.98%Strong Republican
Vermont$1.5035.83%$40,2490.16%Democratic
Virginia$1.4718.93%$642,7552.56%Neutral
Washington$0.6316.00%$717,3362.86%Democratic
West Virginia$3.0934.07%$96,7240.39%Strong Republican
Wisconsin$0.8416.09%$398,8501.59%Strong Republican
Wyoming$1.1131.87%$48,0440.19%Strong Republican

Several states were switched in terms of party entirely, and others were nuanced. Here is the summary:

Quick Facts:

Out of 51 states/districts recorded:
9 are Strong Democratic
8 are Democratic
2 are Lean Democratic
1 is Neutral
1 is Lean Republican
9 are Republican
21 are Strong Republican

The average economic output of Strongly Democratic states is $676,748
The average economic output of Democratic states is $654,974
The average economic output of Lean Democratic states is $148,462

The average economic output of Strongly Republican states is $446,066
The average economic output of Republican states is $373,525
The average economic output of Lean Republican states is $104,172

The average ROI for Strongly Democratic states is $0.94
The average ROI for Democratic states is $1.20
The average ROI for Lean Democratic states is $1.31

The average ROI for Strongly Republican states is $1.21
The average ROI for Republican states is $1.31
The average ROI for Lean Republican states is $0.94

The average Dependency on federal funds for Strongly Democratic states is 22.31%
The average Dependency on federal funds for Democratic states is 23.11%
The average Dependency on federal funds for Lean Democratic states is 23.35%

The average Dependency on federal funds for Strongly Republican states is 24.81%
The average Dependency on federal funds for Republican states is 26.77%
The average Dependency on federal funds for Lean Republican states is 25.17%

Strongly Democratic states make up 24.26% of the national value
Democratic states make up 20.87% of the national value
Lean Democratic states make up 1.18% of the national value

Strongly Republican states make up 37.32% of the national value
Republican states make up 13.39% of the national value
Lean Republican states make up 0.41% of the national value

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