Republican politicians routinely claim that cities run by Democrats have been experiencing crime waves caused by failed governance, but a new study shows murder rates are actually higher in states and cities controlled by Republicans.
Those findings are consistent with a pattern that has existed for decades, in which the South has had higher rates of violent crime than the nation as a whole.
While the study divided states by presidential vote in 2020, using gubernatorial party affiliation leads to similar results because most states have recently chosen the same party for governor and for president. Based on presidential vote, eight of the 10 states with the highest murder rates lean Republican, versus seven of the top 10 if one uses the governor’s party.
David Weisburd, a professor of criminology and executive director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University, said that, "The claims of Trump and other Republicans who say Democrats have caused a crime wave in the cities and states they govern are unfounded."
The full article is available here
