The whole concept or Red states vs Blue states goes all the way to back to man named John Chancellor
For the 1976 presidential election Chancellor suggested to his network's engineers that they create a large electronic map of the United States and place it in the network's election-night news studio. If Jimmy Carter, the Democratic candidate, won a state it would light up in red; if Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate, carried a state it would light up in blue. When ABC began using a color scheme four years later, it reversed the colors because "Republican" and "red" both began with "R," and its scheme eventually became the standard for all networks.
There are several differing lists of Blue and Red states, each employing different techniques to categorize the states. This diary looks to categorize states by the number of times a state consecutively voted for the same party starting at the most recent election (2008) and working our way back through previous elections. I will label each category by the political party and the number of consecutive electoral wins
.
So for example:
California which as voted for a Democratic President in every election starting in from 1992 and up (that's 5 elections total) would be labeled in category D5
West Virginia which has voted for a Republican President in every election starting from 2000 and up (that's 3 elections total) would be labeled R3
Swing states will be included in categories D1 and R1
I will start with the most Republican states and end with the most Democratic states. In each category title I will indicate the (color code) for the map which is below, the total 2012 electoral votes, last time the states voted for the other party, and states that have dropped out of this category
R11 – Rock Ribbed Republican (Brown)
Alaska
Idaho
Kansas
Nebraska*
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Utah
Wyoming
Total Electoral Votes: 40
Last time voted for a Democratic President: 1964
These states have the deepest allegiance to the Republican party, and have been voting that way several decades. I don’t see many of these states currently listed above, changing from this pattern anytime soon. In fact 1964 was the only time Alaska ever voted for a Democrat at the Presidential level. To be fair Alaska was actually looking competitive in the 2008 election prior to the selection of the Republican VP. Nebraska has the slight exception of giving one of its electoral votes to Obama in the previous election. But the state as whole is just as Republican friendly as the rest of the states on the list
States that dropped off from this category in the past election: Indiana, Virginia
Despite this strongly Republican category we did have two states drop out from the list. Both of these states have an interesting tale. Virginia bucked the southern trend of states voting for Jimmy Carter in 1976. The state continued in Republican trend all the way to till the election of Mark Warner in 2002 since then the state is more a purple state. The Democratic trend was bolstered by Warner’s crushing senate victory in 2008.
Indiana on the other hand was surprising upset. The old saying used to be that Indiana was so determinately Republican over the issue of taxes that it refused to support Democratic candidates for President. Obama cracked the electoral code to win this state narrowly, winning heavily in the urban big cities. The end result was carrying the state while only winning 15 counties in major upset.
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R8- Ruby Red Confederacy (Dark Red)
Texas
Alabama
Mississippi
South Carolina
Total Electoral Votes: 62
Last time voted for a Democratic President: 1976
All four of these states are part of the Solid South, once a stronghold for the Democrats. With exception Texas these states began turning their allegiance to the Republican Party starting in the 1964 election. With a temporary aberration in 1976 these states would remain part of a Republican Party Stronghold
A combination of poor white farmers and AA voters formed a winning coalition to carry the Deep South for the Democratic party one last time. Despite this, Mississippi only supported Carter by the narrowest of margins 49.5%- 47.6%.
States that dropped off from this category in the past election: North Carolina
North Carolina had long been an intriguing state. Despite a strong conservative trend at the federal level of voting for Republican presidents and conservative stalwart Jesse Helms, Democrats had enjoyed strong support at the state and local level. In fact prior to 2010 elections Republicans had not controlled trifecta of the state since 1870. A strong electoral tide and voters souring mood on the economy led to Dem pick up of the state the first time in decades.
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R4 Sector Crimson (Red Orange)
Montana
Georgia
Total Electoral Votes: 19
Last time voted for a Democratic President: 1992
These states are in an intriguing category of supporting Clinton in his 1992 race before staying giving their allegiance to the Republicans. Ross Perot ended up taking nearly over quarter of the votes in the Big Sky state, leading Clinton to win with just 37% of the vote. In Georgia Clinton barely edged out Bush by a little over than half a percentage point winning the state by a plurality. Democratic Senator Wyche Fowler did the same but since Georgia has a runoff system for the senate, he had to endure an additional election where he came up short.
Interestingly Montana and Georgia we only close wins for McCain with Georgians sending Incumbent Republican senator Chambliss into a runoff election.
States that dropped off from this category in the past election: Colorado
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R3 Scarlet Fever (Pink)
Missouri
Louisiana
Tennessee
Arkansas
Kentucky
Arizona
West Virginia
Total Electoral Votes: 59
Last time voted for a Democratic President: 1996
All these states listed here (except for Arizona which I will get to) were a part of the old Democratic Coalition. Leftovers that had survived through the Reagan era to back a Democratic Candidate in 92 and 96. Perot may have played a part in giving Clinton fighting chance in some of these states.
Arizona is quite an interesting state, had President Clinton not won it in 1996, this state would have stood as the most Republican state (in terms of consecutive Republican victories). In fact you’d be surprised to know that Arizona had not supported another Democratic Presidential candidate since Truman’s victory in 1948! Part of the reason for Republican strength in the state is Maricopa county. This county compromises roughly 60% of the population and hasn't voted for Democratic President since Truman.
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Swing states D1 (and R1 if they existed) (Purple)
North Carolina
Virginia
Florida
Ohio
Colorado
Nevada
Indiana
Iowa
New Mexico
Total Electoral Votes: 112
Nothing much to say here other than that these states are all states that backed Bush in 2004 and Obama in 2008
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D2- The Mighty Dems (very light blue)
New Hampshire
Total Electoral Votes: 4
Last time voted for a Republican President: 2000
New Hampshire has to be in a category of its own. It is the last hold out from the New England region which was once the stronghold for the Republican Party. It was the only state to switch to Kerry during Bush’s reelection campaign in 2004. New Hampshire has had a quite unstable political climate in the recent years. In 2006 it voted out the Republican legislature giving democrats the first trifecta of the state since the late 1800’s( I think it was 1880 but I’m not sure). The strongly libertarian attitude of the state (live free or die) has enabled Republicans to still play a strong role in politics of the state. New Hampshire is the only state that still has no seat belt laws!
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D5 Classic Blue States (Sky Blue)
Pennsylvania
California
Michigan
Illinois
Maryland
Delaware
New Jersey
Connecticut
Vermont
Maine
Total Electoral Votes: 152
Last time voted for a Republican President: 1988
The states listed above are states that we’ve traditionally labeled as blue states in current Presidential elections. The make up a great deal of the Democratic electoral base with solid loyalty to team blue.
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D6 True Blue Territory (Blue)
Washington
Oregon
Wisconsin
New York
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Hawaii
Total Electoral Votes: 77
Last time voted for a Republican President: 1984
Apart from Wisconsin all these states are strongly Democratic. Republicans must win a good deal of independents to even be competitive in these states.
Wisconsin despite being in this category has is much more a swing state. Republicans have had a decent luck in winning control at the state level. Both Kerry and Gore were only able to carry the state by the narrowest of margins. Time will tell where this state stands in future elections
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D9 Deceptively Blue (dark blue)
Minnesota
Total Electoral Votes:10
Last time voted for a Republican President: 1972
Here we are to our final category with only one unique state. On paper Minnesota appears to be the bluest state of all by supporting a Democratic Presidential candidate for 9 consecutive elections. The only state to have bucked the Reagan era, does have one important fact. That fact was that Walter Mondale of Minnesota was on the presidential ticket for 1976, 1980, and 1984. This kept the state on team blue’s corner for most of political battles of the decade. Since then Minnesota has much in common with its neighboring state that it too is considered a swing state.