Ron Paul and Cold Weather

Climates that are cold focus their populations on more basic issues. The less money you have, the more you are affected by less people friendly climates.

So perhaps it is no surprise that Ron Paul's brand of fiscal conservatism appeals most to people living in northern states.

A particularly interesting difference is in the north to south alignment of Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. None of these states have non-trivial mormon population, so that can't skew the results. None of these states are the "home" of a candidate. As you go south, Ron Paul votes dissipate.

See the map below:

Ron Paul's results in Michigan would have been much better if the chief rival (Mitt Romney) wasn't born there and have a father who was governor there. The same is true in Massachusetts where Romney lives and was himself a governor. His success in the directly adjoining states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine would likely have been even better had Romney not lived and been governor nearby.