# Left Coast

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{{Update|the 2024 and 2025 elections|date=April 2025}}
{{Short description|American pejorative political expression}}
{{other uses|Left coast (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Members of the 119th United States House of Representatives.svg
| caption1          = Map of the [US House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) as of the 119th Congress (2025–2027). Every district on the West Coast touching the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii but excluding [Alaska's at-large congressional district](/source/Alaska's_at-large_congressional_district), is represented by Democrats as shown in blue.
| image2            = Canada Election 2021 Results Map (Simple).svg
| caption2          = Map of the [Canadian House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_Canada) as of the 44th Parliament (2021–2025). Every district on the British Columbia Coast touching the Pacific Ocean is represented by either [Liberals](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Canada) as shown in red, [NDP](/source/New_Democratic_Party) as shown in orange or [Greens](/source/Green_Party_of_Canada) as shown in green.
}}
'''Left Coast''' is a political expression that implies that the [West Coast of the United States](/source/West_Coast_of_the_United_States) leans [politically](/source/politically) to the [left](/source/Left-wing_politics). The implication is that with the exception of [Alaska](/source/Alaska), the states of [California](/source/California), [Oregon](/source/Oregon), [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)), and [Hawaii](/source/Hawaii) tend to vote for the [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)), particularly in [Coastal California](/source/Coastal_California), the [Eugene](/source/Eugene_metropolitan_area) and [Portland](/source/Portland_metropolitan_area) metropolitan areas in Oregon, the [Puget Sound region](/source/Puget_Sound_region) in Washington, and most of Hawaii. It also suggests that most people who live in the West Coast region have a generally more liberal or progressive attitude than the rest of the country. The phrase [plays](/source/pun) on the fact that the West Coast is on the left of the United States when viewing a map with north oriented at the top.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hyslop|first=Stephen G.|title=Political Geography of the United States|publisher=[Guilford Press](/source/Guilford_Press)|date= April 5, 1996|page=65-68}}</ref> The term also applies to [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia)'s place in [Canada](/source/Canada), for the same reasons.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Francis |first1=Daniel |title=Far Out on the Left Coast: British Columbia's Sense of Isolation and Belonging |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/far-out-on-the-left-coast-feature |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |accessdate=29 September 2019}}</ref>

In the United States, the expression is used pejoratively by right-leaning people, but proudly by people on the left. Conservative [NewsMax](/source/NewsMax) columnist James Hirsen writes the "Left Coast Report", which puts down Hollywood celebrities and their scandals as well as providing conservative political commentary.<ref>[http://www.leftcoastreport.com James Hirsen's ''Left Coast Report'' website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030701103658/http://www.leftcoastreport.com/ |date=2003-07-01 }}</ref> He has also written a book, ''Tales from the Left Coast: True Stories of Hollywood Stars and Their Outrageous Politics''. On the other side, the term is used by cartoonist [Ted Rall](/source/Ted_Rall) as the name of his left-leaning political comic strip.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gocomics.com/rallcom|title=Today on Ted Rall - Comics by Ted Rall - GoComics|website=www.gocomics.com|accessdate=6 September 2018}}</ref> Writer, [voiceover](/source/Voice-over) actor, and gay rights activist [Ben Patrick Johnson](/source/Ben_Patrick_Johnson) calls his video blog ''Life on the Left Coast''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ben Patrick Johnson Video Blog |url=https://blog.benpatrickjohnson.com/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407033421/http://blog.benpatrickjohnson.com/ |archivedate=April 7, 2008 |website=blog.benpatrickjohnson.com}}</ref> Fundraiser and CEO of [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco)-based nonprofit [Tides](/source/Tides_Center), [Drummond Pike](/source/Drummond_Pike), maintains a CEO blog entitled ''Notes from the Left Coast''.<ref>''[http://drummondpike.tides.org/ Notes from the Left Coast] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731235707/http://drummondpike.tides.org/ |date=2009-07-31 }}''.</ref>

== Definitions ==
The term is also used in a neutral or non-political sense. The left coast has by far the most workers in [STEM professions](/source/STEM_fields) and will continue to be a leading tech hub for the United States. The gross product of the left coast was approximately $1.2 trillion.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Kotkin |first1=Joel |last2=Schill |first2=Mark |date=September 4, 2013 |title=America's Next Decade |url=https://www.forbes.com/special-report/2013/america-next-decade.html |access-date=2024-10-29 |magazine=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

In [Canada](/source/Canada), the coastal strip of [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), including [Vancouver Island](/source/Vancouver_Island), is also referred to as the Left Coast. The use of the term "left coast" is not usually pejorative. For example, at the [investiture](/source/investiture) to the [Order of British Columbia](/source/Order_of_British_Columbia) of the painter [Edward John Hughes](/source/E._J._Hughes) by the [Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia](/source/Lieutenant_Governor_of_British_Columbia), [Iona Campagnolo](/source/Iona_Campagnolo), in April 2006, she stated, "We have all occasionally heard of our beloved coast dismissed as the 'wet coast', the 'left' coast, even the 'rain coast', yet for most of us, these are 'terms of endearment'..."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leftcoasttees.com/|title=Left Coast T-Shirt Co, San Luis Obispo, Screenprinting, Embroidery, Promotional Products|website=www.leftcoasttees.com|accessdate=6 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcoastpress.com/about_us.php|title=Routledge Welcomes Left Coast Press - Routledge|website=Routledge.com|accessdate=6 September 2018}}</ref>

==History==
Since [1992](/source/1992_United_States_presidential_election), the state of California has consistently voted Democratic in presidential elections. In the case of Oregon and Washington, and Hawaii, all three have voted Democratic since the [1988 presidential election](/source/1988_United_States_presidential_election).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Monkovic |first1=Toni |title=50 Years of Electoral College Maps: How the U.S. Turned Red and Blue |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/upshot/50-years-of-electoral-college-maps-how-the-us-turned-red-and-blue.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=13 November 2020 |date=22 August 2016}}</ref>

Virtually no Republicans have statewide office in those states. Oregon and Washington are notable for being especially consistent in electing Democratic governors, and Oregon in particular has the country's longest streak of Democratic governors. Additionally, in the [2022 House of Representatives elections](/source/2022_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections), all congressional districts directly bordering the Pacific Ocean (including Alaska and Hawaii) were won by Democrats.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mishanec |first=Nora |date=2022-11-22 |title=Democrats now control all House seats along the Pacific Ocean for first time in memory |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/After-key-California-victories-Democrats-control-17604460.php |work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2022-12-02}}</ref>

During the [2024 United States presidential election](/source/2024_United_States_presidential_election), the states of California<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Election - Statement of Vote, November 5, 2024 :: California Secretary of State |url=https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/general-election-nov-5-2024/statement-vote |access-date=2026-05-22 |website=www.sos.ca.gov}}</ref>, Oregon<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oregon Secretary of State |url=http://sos.oregon.gov/ |access-date=2026-05-22 |website=sos.oregon.gov |language=en}}</ref>, Washington<ref>[https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/Official%20Canvass%20of%20the%20Returns%20G2024_%20Certification%2012%2004%202024.pdf "Official Canvass of the Returns of the General Election Held on November 5, 2024"] (PDF). [Secretary of State of Washington](/source/Secretary_of_State_of_Washington). December 4, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2026.</ref>, and Hawaii<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results |url=https://elections.hawaii.gov/election-results/ |access-date=2026-05-22 |website=elections.hawaii.gov |language=en}}</ref> were won by Democratic candidate [Kamala Harris](/source/Kamala_Harris).

Similarly in Canada, the coastal parts of British Columbia votes consistently for left leaning Members of Parliament such as [Liberals](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Canada) and [New Democrats](/source/New_Democratic_Party), and for [New Democrats](/source/British_Columbia_New_Democratic_Party) as well as [Greens](/source/Green_Party_of_British_Columbia) provincially, though with some exceptions. For example, in the [2025 Canadian federal election](/source/2025_Canadian_federal_election), the [Conservative Party of Canada](/source/Conservative_Party_of_Canada) won several coastal seats, including [Nanaimo—Ladysmith](/source/Nanaimo%E2%80%94Ladysmith) and [North Island—Powell River](/source/North_Island%E2%80%94Powell_River).<ref>{{Cite news |title=The federal Conservatives gained seven seats in B.C. How they did it |url=https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/how-the-federal-conservatives-gained-seven-seats-in-bc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430004717/https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/how-the-federal-conservatives-gained-seven-seats-in-bc |archive-date=April 30, 2025 |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=Vancouver Sun |last=Todd |first=Douglas |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [Blue States](/source/Red_states_and_blue_states)
* [Cascadia (independence movement)](/source/Cascadia_(independence_movement))
* [Flyover country](/source/Flyover_country)
* [Jesusland map](/source/Jesusland_map)
* [History of the west coast of North America](/source/History_of_the_west_coast_of_North_America)
* [Progressivism in the United States](/source/Progressivism_in_the_United_States)
* [San Francisco values](/source/San_Francisco_values)
* [Solid South](/source/Solid_South)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Electoral geography of the United States
Category:Political terminology of the United States
Category:Liberalism in the United States
Category:Progressivism in the United States
Category:West Coast of the United States
Category:History of the Democratic Party (United States)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Left Coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Coast) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Coast?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.