How to Dynamically Assign DropDown Value in MVC 5 View - asp.net-mvc

Question

I have a Model that contains basic address information:
public class AddressModel()
{
public string Address1 { get; set; }
public string Address2 { get; set; }
public string City { get; set; }
public string State { get; set; }
public string Zip { get; set; }
}
When passing it into a form in my View, I am placing the values into a textbox, except for the State, which is a dropdown box that is hardcoded to contain the states in America:
<form>
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="col-md-3">
<div class="form-group">
<!-- First Name -->
<label for="first_name_id" class="control-label">First Name</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" id="first_name_id" name="first_name" placeholder="First Name" value="#Html.ViewData.Model.Patient.FirstName.First().ToString().ToUpper()#Html.ViewData.Model.FirstName.Substring(1).ToLower()">
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-3">
<div class="form-group">
<!-- Last Name -->
<label for="last_name_id" class="control-label">Last Name</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" id="last_name_id" name="last_name" placeholder="Last Name" value="#Html.ViewData.Model.Patient.LastName.First().ToString().ToUpper()#Html.ViewData.Model.LastName.Substring(1).ToLower()">
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-3">
<div class="form-group">
<!-- Street 1 -->
<label for="street1_id" class="control-label">Street Address 1</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" id="street1_id" name="street1" placeholder="" value="#Html.ViewData.Patient.BillingAddress1">
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-3">
<div class="form-group">
<!-- Street 2 -->
<label for="street2_id" class="control-label">Street Address 2</label>
<input style="margin-left: 0px" type="text" class="form-control" id="street2_id" name="street2" placeholder="Apartment, Suite, etc." value="#Html.ViewData.Patient.BillingAddress2">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="col-md-4">
<div class="form-group">
<!-- City-->
<label for="city_id" class="control-label">City</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" id="city_id" name="city" placeholder="" value="#Html.ViewData.Model.BillingCity">
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<div class="form-group">
<!-- State Dropdown-->
<label for="state_id" class="control-label">State</label>
<select class="form-control" id="state_id">
<option value="AL">Alabama</option>
<option value="AK">Alaska</option>
<option value="AZ">Arizona</option>
<option value="AR">Arkansas</option>
<option value="CA">California</option>
<option value="CO">Colorado</option>
<option value="CT">Connecticut</option>
<option value="DE">Delaware</option>
<option value="DC">District Of Columbia</option>
<option value="FL">Florida</option>
<option value="GA">Georgia</option>
<option value="HI">Hawaii</option>
<option value="ID">Idaho</option>
<option value="IL">Illinois</option>
<option value="IN">Indiana</option>
<option value="IA">Iowa</option>
<option value="KS">Kansas</option>
<option value="KY">Kentucky</option>
<option value="LA">Louisiana</option>
<option value="ME">Maine</option>
<option value="MD">Maryland</option>
<option value="MA">Massachusetts</option>
<option value="MI">Michigan</option>
<option value="MN">Minnesota</option>
<option value="MS">Mississippi</option>
<option value="MO">Missouri</option>
<option value="MT">Montana</option>
<option value="NE">Nebraska</option>
<option value="NV">Nevada</option>
<option value="NH">New Hampshire</option>
<option value="NJ">New Jersey</option>
<option value="NM">New Mexico</option>
<option value="NY">New York</option>
<option value="NC">North Carolina</option>
<option value="ND">North Dakota</option>
<option value="OH">Ohio</option>
<option value="OK">Oklahoma</option>
<option value="OR">Oregon</option>
<option value="PA">Pennsylvania</option>
<option value="RI">Rhode Island</option>
<option value="SC">South Carolina</option>
<option value="SD">South Dakota</option>
<option value="TN">Tennessee</option>
<option value="TX">Texas</option>
<option value="UT">Utah</option>
<option value="VT">Vermont</option>
<option value="VA">Virginia</option>
<option value="WA">Washington</option>
<option value="WV">West Virginia</option>
<option value="WI">Wisconsin</option>
<option value="WY">Wyoming</option>
</select>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<div class="form-group">
<!-- Zip Code-->
<label for="zip_id" class="control-label">Zip Code</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" id="zip_id" name="zip" placeholder="" value="#Html.ViewData.Model.BillingZip">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</form>
Is there a way to assign the value/option of the drop down in this current format? I can't seem to figure out a way to set the value this way. Do I use the HTML Helper Method for dropdowns, given the list of states? Currently the Value is always set to Alabama.

Answer 1

Each Option element has a "Selected" property, like
<option value="CA" selected="selected">California</option>
You could also set in javascript like
document.getElementById("state_id").value = "CA";
I am not sure what dictates what the default value needs to be. Is there an event, like changing the text in another textbox, or a value available, like a CustomerID, that determines which Option element should be defaulted? Let me know...