the area was contested between us and uk, uk had a trading post on the north bank of the columbia river and then there were more americans in the willamette valley which became the capital of the territory
the early settlers of what's now seattle didn't like not having power so they asked to separate
>>213817596both states have a pretty big urban-rural divide
seattle and portland are politically left, but then some farming community a four hour drive away is going to be more politically right