Left Coast

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Election results from the 2004 Presidential election show all three states on the western coast of the continental United States as being "Blue States."

Left Coast is a political expression implying that the West Coast of the United States is politically left-wing. The implication is that the states of California, Oregon, and Washington vote more often for the Democratic Party than the other states in the Western United States. This phrase plays on the fact that the west coast of the US is found on the left of the contiguous 48 states when viewing a map with north oriented upwards.

In Canada, the coastal strip of British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, is also referred to as the Left Coast. This is in part because of the large population of hippies and others, including American military deserters and draft dodgers, who sought a more tranquil life in the relatively unpopulated coastal areas of the province. This same area is also referred to as the Wet Coast or Rain Coast because of the high annual precipitation found in many places along the coast.

In Canada use of the term left coast is not usually pejorative. For example, at the Order of British Columbia Investiture of painter Edward John Hughes, by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, 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'..." [1]

The term is used by NewsMax.com columnist James Hirsen in his "Left Coast Report", which attacks Hollywood celebrities for supporting liberal views. It is also used by Ted Rall as the name of his left-leaning political comic strip. The term is also used by Rush Limbaugh in his daily radio program.^{[citation needed]}