The alluring simplicity of single-factor explanations always threatens to tempt us into overstatement. But in this case we cannot deny the correlation between cause and effect.

On Tuesday, U.S. News & World Report ranked Nassau County, New York, the safest community in America.

In related news, Nassau boasts a Republican county executive, a Republican district attorney and a Republican-controlled legislature.

Furthermore, these particular Republicans have adopted America First positions on illegal immigration and crime.

County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman, for instance, has stood with former President Donald Trump on many critical issues, such as immigration.

“Nassau County is not a sanctuary city, and America will no longer be a sanctuary country when @realDonaldTrump is re-elected to the White House. I thank the President for inviting me to join him in the Bronx for tonight’s rally,” Blakeman wrote on the social media platform X in May.

Nassau County is not a sanctuary city, and America will no longer be a sanctuary country when @realDonaldTrump is re-elected to the White House. I thank the President for inviting me to join him in the Bronx for tonight’s rally. pic.twitter.com/257CDAtNVO

— Bruce Blakeman (@NassauExec) May 24, 2024

Likewise, District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly has made her pro-police position clear.

“Thank you for caring about Nassau County and wanting to make it safe,” Donnelly told supporters at a watch party on the night of her 2021 election victory, according to Long Island Press. “[A]nd thanks for picking the candidate who backs the blue. I am excited to get to work and make a difference.”

Finally, according to Newsday, the 2023 elections returned a 12-7 Republican majority in the county legislature.

Best of all, Nassau’s Republicans have gone beyond mere words.

In a 12-7 party-line vote on Monday, and in response to mask-wearing protesters responsible for a surge in anti-Semitic incidents since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the Nassau County Legislature adopted a ban on masks in public places, albeit with some exceptions for health, religious or cultural reasons, per The Associated Press.

Of course, while Republican majorities in local governments can do wonders for public safety, other factors also require consideration.

For instance, affluent communities tend to take care of their own, even if it means ignoring the rest of America.

Thus, unsurprisingly, the list of 25 safest communities also featured five of the 15 counties U.S. News & World Report identified as wealthiest in America by median household income in 2023. Nassau, ranked 1st in safety, came in as the 9th-wealthiest county.

Other counties that appeared on both lists were: Arlington, VA; Loudoun, VA; Los Alamos, NM and San Mateo, CA.

Safety rankings aside, we should not assume special virtue in the populations of those counties. After all, the wealth of Arlington, Loudoun and Los Alamos in particular derives from proximity to federal agencies.

As one would expect in light of those counties’ government-fueled prosperity, voters there do not choose Republicans in national elections. In fact, in the 2020 election, President Joe Biden won Los Alamos, Arlington and Loudoun by gargantuan margins. Biden also won big-tech dominated San Mateo and even Nassau.

In other words, the presence of sane Republicans in local government does not guarantee that peaceful, secure and wealthy counties will choose those same levels of peace, security and prosperity for the rest of America.

Nonetheless, we must take what we can get, where we can get it. And Nassau’s Republicans have shown the way.

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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.