I remember that Kansas, Iowa, Montana, etc. were rather progressive states at the beginning of the 1900s; Montana (for example) was one of the first states to allow women suffrage. Why, then, did they become the infamous centers of conservatism that they are today? A combination of exaggeration of true trends, aging and declining population as agriculture declined and became less and less labor-intensive, and just plain standing still while the rest of the world moved on?
Related to that, and more in line with the actual purpose of this board, is there any way to keep the Middle States as their former liberal selves? (Perhaps making the South and Far West the major conservative bastions...)