I don’t think the above commenter is saying GOP isn’t worse, but having lived there for a few years and since moved away, it’s taxed quite a bit more than other states. You definitely get a lot more out of it, so it’s just that tradeoff. Either you pay little taxes and have to pay separately for private things to do everything yourself (good for rich people, bad for everyone else), or you pay more taxes but have way more public services.
The reality is that these people were/are unhappy in their lives due to stagnation in their finances/jobs, poor healthcare, and they don’t have a tight local community. Then these dumb, angry people are primed to accept someone who says they’ll fix their lives, and knows how to talk right to them. Everything else is just toppings, but that’s really the meat of it.