They score at the bottom in personal freedom even when abortion rights and electoral integrity are not included. When we factor in the systematic disenfranchisement of their voters and the way they view women, they’re downright un-American. They do badly on every category from the drug war to alcohol freedom, incarceration rates, gambling freedom, educational freedom, and of course racial, gender, and sexual equality.
Some Red States do particularly well in economic freedom, but the many score poorly in both dimensions. Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Weat Virginia are all top 10 highest spending states as a percentage of GDP (as are red states Alaska and Wyoming, but they’re not in the South). Red states in general score particularly badly on occupational licensing and certification.