Americans continue to move from blue states to red states

SALT LAKE CITY — Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, some Americans and — many celebrities, it seemed — threatened to leave the country if former President Donald Trump won the election.

Edward Pinto, the senior fellow and co-director at the American Enterprise Institute Housing Center, finds that ironic since states that traditionally have voted for Democrats for president have seen residents moving to more conservative states. It's a trend that has been occurring for more than 30 years, according to Pinto.

In a recent opinion piece that originally appeared in Newsweek, Pinto attributes the domestic migration from blue to red states stemming from certain governors' progressive policies in states like California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois and New York.

"From 1990 to 2021, net domestic migration fleeing their states has totaled 13 million," Pinto said. "Meanwhile, the red states of Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada and South Carolina have had net in-migration of 13 million over the same period."

Just days after Trump secured the office of president for a second term, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he would "fight to the death" to resist the Trump administration's agenda and that his state would be "willing to try anything if it's contrary to our values," per Newsweek.

"If it's contrary to our values, we'll fight to the death," he added. "If there is an opportunity for common ground, we'll seize that as fast as anybody."

Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom requested an additional $25 million from the state Legislature as preparation for future legal actions against the incoming Republican president. Though Newsom said the state would work with the president-elect, he warned in a press release that "when there is overreach, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action. And that is exactly what this special session is about — setting this state up for success, regardless of who is in the White House."

Abortion, illegal immigration and climate action are some of the hot-button issues state leaders in blue state are concerned about with Trump as president along with a GOP majority in the Senate and House and a conservative-majority Supreme Court.

In response to their evident opposition to the incoming president, Pinto added, "With all their talk of 'resistance,' their states will face a doom loop of permanent decline due to shrinking populations, rising subsidies, diminished economic vitality, increasing poverty, and a less prosperous future for their children and grandchildren."

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