Many people consider Virginia to be more Mid Atlantic. North Carolina is definitely considered Southeast.
Two of my kids are in Southern schools, in Virginia and Georgia. They are loving their experiences. But guys, seriously, these are NOT blue states. I am all for kids experiencing different cultures in the US (hence one reason my kids went South ā we are from NY). This kid wants a blue state experience, not a blue bubble in a red state. I say, give her what she wants!
OP, I would ask your daughter which sheād rather give up: the weather or the blue state requirement. Deprioritizing one of them will open up a lot of really great schools.
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I think one issue with the UCs is flexibility as sheās undecided - I know many majors are impacted so that would give me pause (I also had an undecided 2021 - although he at least knew he was STEM). My thoughts
CA:
Santa Clara
U of San Diego - we know 2 very non-religious students who loved it ymmv
OR/WA - are these actually warm enough for her to start with - honestly I think the weather in Colorado is way better than either, but if she can stand a ton of rain and dreary days to avoid any snowā¦
neither Oregon State of University of Oregon are cutthroat - she really needs to understand if there are potential majors that are impacted at University of Washington as sheāll run into same issue as the UCs. We know a few kids at University of Puget Sound - but itās small, similarly Willamette in OR
CO - can she handle some snow if itās usually sunny? CU Boulder, University of Denver and CSU will all give her a whole new experience vs Texas
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I think of PA as mid Atlantic. Outside of Philly and Pittsburgh itās a red state.
Letās move on from debating, as non-exhaustive examples, whether a particular state is red/blue/purple or considered South vs Mid-Atlantic. Letās let OP and child make their own determinations. 
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Iāve been trying to push the Colorado schools and the sunny aspect. We will definitely go visit them!
I think for now we will plan to see some California and Colorado schools, some Mass schools for sibling, and then work in a DC/MD (and maybe Delaware?) trip. Iāll keep in mind the VA/NC/PA schools and the PNW for when she has decided which things are negotiable.
Thanks - all of this discussion did help me confirm that I wasnāt missing a warm weather liberal state! 
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My daughter graduated from LMU. It is in line with the other Jesuit schools as in yes, there is a religious presence such as symbolism (crucifixes, Christmas trees) and priests, in a very open, accepting, non-pressure environment. Jesuit is more about education and service and ācura personalisā (whole person) than about particular dogma or denomination or trying to convert people. The vibe there was not pressure cooker, friendly, happy students in a bucolic gated campus in LA. My son attends Elon (NC), another mid sized school of very happy students and a nice range of academics. The local area/sheriff is the opposite of liberal, but all campuses IMO are a bubble from their surrounding areaā¦ I understand her thoughts though, Iām not a TX resident but recent events coupled with the college opportunity of spending 4 years in another state would probably have me thinking along the same lines.
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If sheās looking for some crunchy-liberal, chill vibes with warm weather/not super cold weatherā¦
California: Iād look at the classic CA beach town schools: UC Santa Cruz, UCSB, Cal Poly SLO. Might also look at SDSU (UCSD is a little more studious/STEM but still plenty of beach culture, too). UCLA is close to the beach but doesnāt exude beach vibes. I think itās more chill than Berkeley, but not as chill as UCSB. With private schools, Chapman is popular with our Northern CA public school. Away from the beach, Chico State might be worth a look.
Oregon: We loved the University of Oregon and Eugene. It was my D22ās safety and she was admitted to the Honors College. She would have been very happy there. Elsewhere in Oregon, Reed and Lewis and Clark might be worth checking out, but they are tiny. (However, if you think Whitman could be a fit, then definitely keep them on the table). We know people who love OSU, too.
Washington: UW seems cool, but we didnāt visit or apply. Western Washington University is an up and coming school in our area ā more people are talking about it. I think the weather can vary quite a bit there, though.
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We loved our visit to Oregon State. It is a safety on my sonās list, and it was our favorite tour so far. He did tours for business, engineering, and natural sciences and was impressed by the curriculum and facilities. He also liked the honors college. Students seemed friendly and collaborative with a comfortable mix (for my son) of nerdy-arty-sporty-outdoorsy.
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Thanks for this. Iād love to hear more about LMU. Do most kids stay on campus all four years or do upperclassmen move off? Are social activities centered around campus or is it more about going out to LA clubs etc.? Leaving aside the religion question, your description of LMU sounds like it would be a great fit for this dd.
DC is very blue. So American/GW/Georgetown, but she has to concede some on the weather. I have heard great things about SDSU in CA.
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Iām an SDSU alum 
Itās a terrific school and itās changed a lot over the last 25 years since I graduated. I think the party school rep has scaled back, but itās definitely a place where you can have a good time/find a party when you want one. When I was there, it seemed like Greek life was a dominant force in the social scene. I think the same may be true still. SDSU also attracts a good number of local/commuter students, but there are lots of dorms and apartments so it has a good campus life, too. It doesnāt clear out on weekends at all.
Academically, I had my best experiences once I was in the smaller classes of my major. The GE classes were fine but for the kind of student I was, I probably would have been better off at a LAC. I thrived in small settings and tuned out in large lecture halls. But that isnāt SDSUās fault, just a reality of going to a huge school.
Location-wise, itās inland but about 15 min to the beach towns (mission beach, pacific beach). Easy freeway access. San Diego is a great town. Lots of restaurants, shops, music, theaterā¦ and plenty of business opportunities, too. I had several internships throughout college. I lived a block from the beach in a scruffy apartment my senior year. I loved living there and stayed a few more years after graduation. Many of my friends stayed in SD and made careers there.
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LMU: My daughter lived on campus two years, then off, which seems pretty typical. Theyāve added some big new dorms since her time (2021 grad) so maybe the numbers are a little higher now. Campus is actually fenced and gated, which means for social activities on campus, the choices would just be small parties in dorms or campus apartments, or the usual array of student clubs/student events such as improv, movies, games, etc. There are no residential Greek houses. There are also students living in the surrounding neighborhood houses for parties. Itās not a party school even though of course they can be found. My daughter wasnāt into clubs and bars but yes, that happens as well. She was more of a small-friend group kind of person and was very happy socially. Her roommate was more social and found plenty to do off campus with other like minded students. Every time I visited I was struck by how happy the students seem to be, and her education was greatā¦very passionate professors (for the most part); she developed great mentor relationships and landed a fantastic job after graduation. Daughter knew it was for her after her first visit. She had a few friends at Chapman who were also very happy, we visited there and it was very nice. If you are planning a visit LMU is super convenient to LAX.
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We visited U of Washington Seattle and my son really loved it. Great academics, a gorgeous campus separate from but right next to an amazing city. Lots of kids of all academic levels but not super intense or competitive. My older d went to Georgetown which for this New England family is plenty warm! A really amazing school and a great historic college town right next to one of the most amazing world cities.
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I know it was mentioned a few times upthread, but let me add another vote to consider U New Mexico. Blue state, diverse, nice weather (mountain-adjacent for outdoorsy purposes but not a cold climate), strong Honors Program, good merit aid for OOS applicants. We visited the campus with D22 and really liked it - interesting Southwestern architecture, lots of green spaces, nice coffee-shops-and-vintage-stores area on adjacent streets.
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PNW parent chiming in here: Willamette and Lewis & Clark are not pressure cookers at all, but Reed seems to relish their reputation for how burnt out they can get and that itās intense.
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I think Reed is bi-modal. Youāve got the intensity folks at one end (definitely a factor) AND the hippy/boho, grades are so bourgeois folks āIām here to read Kant and Hegelā at the other end (definitely a factor). But a kid who doesnāt want a pressure cooker of achievement can definitely find their peeps at Reed! Not everyoneā¦ but of course, even at the most laid back college, youāll find the gunners. (I know an Evergreen grad who is about the most competitive person youāll ever meet. Wish Iād known her at age 20!)
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Strongly recommend this approach. We started by identifying some archetypes that were in places close to people we wanted to visit. A benefit of this was that the early visits were low pressure, as there was no pressure for the fit to be right.
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If she has no idea what she wants to study, Iād recommend a large school with lots of majors. If you want to keep the budget under control, Iād recommend a public school (which may offer her enough merit money to bring the cost closer to her cost in TX), but the UCs wonāt do that. If she wanted to chase merit money, sheād probably be looking at 3rd tier private colleges, and that doesnāt sound like the right match for the strong student that she is.
Iād recommend U Md, U Delaware, U Washington (Seattle), U Oregon. Know that Oregon and Washington will be very rainy all winter. If sheās willing to go to Virginia, UVa of course. Same for UNC. But the issue in Va and NC is likely to be the same as she has in TX - a liberal university town in a state ruled by a conservative legislature.
U Md is more selective than U Delaware. If she doesnāt want drizzle all winter, Iād say that U Md is a great choice for her. Know that applications need to go in early for consideration for merit money, at Md and probably at others, too.
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But also where majors of potential interest does not require a highly competitive or difficult secondary admission process, because the majors are āfullā relative to department capacity.
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