St. Louis, MO

Look, I’ve lived in St. Louis my whole life, and I’ve watched this city’s politics shift from a rough-and-tumble, blue-collar Democratic machine into something far more ideologically rigid. The numbers tell the story: St. Louis City has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+29, meaning it votes about 29 points more Democratic than the national average. That’s not just blue—it’s deep, deep blue. And while the city has always been Democratic, the flavor has changed. It used to be about unions, ward politics, and getting potholes filled. Now it’s about progressive social agendas, and frankly, a lot of us feel like the government is getting way too comfortable telling you how to live your life.

How it compares

If you drive just 15 minutes west into St. Louis County, you hit places like Wildwood, Town and Country, or Chesterfield. Those areas are still purple-to-red, with a lot of fiscal conservatives and folks who just want to be left alone. Go another 30 minutes out to St. Charles County, and you’re in solid Republican territory—places like O’Fallon and Wentzville. The contrast is stark. In the city, you’ve got a city council that’s pushed through things like a $15 minimum wage, strict paid sick leave mandates, and a non-discrimination ordinance that, while well-intentioned, has been used to go after small business owners who don’t want to participate in certain cultural events. The county and suburbs? They’re still fighting to keep property taxes low and schools focused on basics, not social engineering. It’s like two different countries sharing a zip code.

What this means for residents

For a conservative or even a moderate living in the city, it means you’re constantly swimming upstream. The city government has a habit of overreaching—like the 2020 effort to defund the police, which led to a spike in carjackings and homicides that we’re still digging out from. The mayor and board of aldermen have pushed through a “Clean Energy” bill that effectively bans natural gas hookups in new construction, which drives up your utility bills and limits your choices. And the school board? It’s been taken over by progressive activists who’ve focused more on renaming schools and pushing critical race theory than on fixing the fact that less than 20% of kids in St. Louis Public Schools are proficient in math. If you value personal freedom—like choosing your own energy source, sending your kid to a school that teaches fundamentals, or running a business without a dozen new regulations every year—the city is becoming a harder place to call home.

One thing that really gets under my skin is how the city handles property rights. There’s a growing movement to impose rent control and “just cause” eviction laws, which sounds nice on paper but basically ties a landlord’s hands. I’ve seen small-time landlords sell off their properties because they can’t get rid of problem tenants without a year-long legal battle. That shrinks the rental supply and drives up prices for everyone. And the city’s approach to homelessness? Instead of enforcing basic camping bans, they’ve set up “safe zones” that have turned some parks into permanent encampments. It’s a mess. Looking ahead, I don’t see it getting better unless there’s a serious pushback at the ballot box. The progressive machine is entrenched, and the only real check on it is the state legislature in Jefferson City, which has been stepping in to preempt some of the city’s more radical ordinances. But that’s a band-aid. If you’re thinking of moving here, just know: you’re not just moving to a city—you’re moving into a political experiment that’s still unfolding, and not in a way that respects your right to live your own life.