Unexpected State with Dem Governor Is Ranked the Freest in America: Study
Being the freest state in America is certainly something to celebrate. But the state that earned that distinction might surprise you — particularly if you’ve been paying attention to its governor.
The Cato Institute released its 2026 Freedom in the 50 States report, and Arizona claimed the top spot, despite having Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs at the helm.
In fact, there’s a rather amusing discrepancy between Arizona’s ranking and Hobbs’ individual performance in the study.
While Arizona ranked first overall, Hobbs finished a decidedly less impressive 20th among the nation’s governors, earning a C grade and a score of just 38.27 percent.
So how does the governor of America’s freest state barely crack the top 20?
Well, there’s an important distinction here: Cato evaluates states based on their existing policies, while its gubernatorial rankings examine how individual governors have affected freedom through their actions.
In other words, Arizona has freedom-forward policies, while Hobbs hasn’t exactly been upholding them. Despite its blue governor, the state has established a particularly strong reputation for educational freedom, including school choice, charter schools, and homeschooling.
As for the rest of the country, the study offers an interesting look at where Americans enjoy the greatest and least economic and personal freedoms — at least as measured by Cato’s methodology.
Joining Arizona among the five freest states were Montana, Nevada, Florida, and Idaho. That’s a group featuring several states with Republican leadership, although the rankings aren’t simply a referendum on political party affiliation.
Meanwhile, the five states at the opposite end of the rankings were South Carolina, Alaska, Massachusetts, New York, and Hawaii, with Hawaii finishing dead last.
And congratulations are apparently in order for California. The Golden State narrowly escaped the bottom five by finishing seventh from last.
Break out the champagne, Sacramento.
Of course, the presence of Republican-led South Carolina and Alaska near the bottom complicates any argument that simply electing Republicans guarantees greater freedom.
Likewise, Arizona’s standing under a Democratic governor doesn’t establish that Hobbs deserves credit for every policy contributing to its success.
What the findings do offer is an opportunity to examine which policies promote individual choice, limit unnecessary government interference, and give Americans greater control over their own lives.
For conservatives, policy goals such as school choice, lower regulatory burdens, and greater economic independence have long been important priorities. Cato’s report provides a framework for examining those principles in practice rather than merely judging states by the party affiliation of their governors.
Still, there’s a larger issue here that shouldn’t get lost in the partisan scorekeeping.
Why should any American have to move across state lines to enjoy substantially greater freedom?
Yes, states have different priorities, populations, and political cultures. And federalism necessarily allows them to make different policy choices.
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But protecting fundamental liberties shouldn’t be some exclusive privilege reserved for residents of a handful of states.
Even Arizona, the study’s overall leader, has room for improvement. Finishing first in a comparison of 50 states doesn’t mean the job is finished, particularly when Cato identifies restrictions on freedom throughout the country.
And while reasonable people can disagree about exactly how freedom should be measured, the underlying question is worth asking regardless of political affiliation.
Shouldn’t every state be striving to protect as much individual liberty as possible?
Republicans and Democrats can argue over which policies best accomplish that goal. They can and assuredly will debate taxes, regulations, education, and the proper limits of government authority.
But the goal itself should hardly be controversial.
After all, America isn’t supposed to be the “land of the relatively free.”
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