The number of conservative-leaning states fell from 44 to 39 in one year: poll

The results of a new Gallup poll are in: The number of conservative-leaning states in the U.S. has fallen from 44 to 39 over the course of one year.

What were the poll's findings?

The poll reported that five fewer states were conservative-leaning in 2017 than in 2016. According to Gallup, Washington, Maryland, California, Oregon, and Rhode Island moved to the liberal-leaning column in 2017.

This brought the total number of liberal-leaning states in the U.S. to nine — others on the list include New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

According to the poll, all 50 states in the U.S. were right-leaning as recently as 2010.

Wyoming still remains the most conservative state in the U.S., while Vermont and Massachusetts are the most liberal.

Gallup pointed to President Donald Trump's "subpar job approval rating in 2017" and noted that the rating "may have starved conservatism of the political fuel needed to thrive while helping to feed liberalism."

Gallup also indicated that "bigger forces are also at work," specifically demographics, noting that "younger liberal adults" are systematically replacing "older conservatives" in the population, and that there's an overall growing support for liberal positions on issues such as same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana.

The poll was based on 180,106 Gallup Daily tracking interviews, which were conducted by telephone throughout 2017. At least 493 people were interviewed in each state, and at least 1,000 people were interviewed in 40 states. The poll's margin of error is +/-1 percentage point.