Cook Partisan Voting Index

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Map by state (After the 2012 election)

The Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI) is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole. The Cook Political Report introduced the PVI in August 1997 to better gauge the competitiveness of each district using the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections as a baseline.[1] The index is based on analysis by the Center for Voting and Democracy (now FairVote) for its July 1997 Monopoly Politics report.[2]

Contents

Calculation [edit]

PVIs are calculated by comparing the district's average Democratic (or Republican) Party's share of the two-party presidential vote in the past two presidential elections to the nation's average share of the same. The national average for 2004 and 2008 was 51.2% Democratic to 48.8% Republican.[1] For example, in Alaska's at-large congressional district, the Republican candidate won 63% and 61% of the two-party share in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections, respectively. Comparing the average of these two results (62%) against the average national share (49%), this district has voted 13 percentage points more Republican than the country as a whole, or R+13.

Prior to its April 2009 update, the PVI formula was calculated by comparing district-level results for the past two presidential elections to nationwide results for only the most recent election. David Nir of the Swing State Project advocated a change to the new formula, and Charlie Cook agreed, wanting an "apples to apples" comparison.[3]

Format [edit]

The Cook PVI is formatted as a letter, plus sign, and number:

  • Letter: The major party, Democratic (D) or Republican (R), to which the district leans
  • Number: The extent of that lean, in rounded percentage points

For districts without a lean, the index written as "EVEN" without a number.

List of PVIs [edit]

Extremes [edit]

The most Democratic congressional district in the country is New York's 15th, located in the Bronx, at D+43. The most Republican district is Texas's 13th with a PVI of R+32. As for states as a whole, Utah and Wyoming are the most Republican at R+22, and Hawaii is the most Democratic at D+20.

The most Republican congressional district to be represented by a Democrat is Utah's 4th, which has a PVI of R+16. The district is represented by Jim Matheson. The most Democratic congressional district to be represented by a Republican is California's 31st, which has a PVI of D+5. The district is represented by Gary Miller.

As a result of the 2012 elections, there are five Democratic-leaning House districts represented by Republicans (down from 18 before the election) and 15 Republican-leaning House districts represented by Democrats (down from 17 before the election). This represents a total of 20 out of 435 Representatives from districts with a PVI opposite to their own party.

In the Senate, the most Republican-leaning state to have a Democratic senator is Arkansas, with Democrat Mark Pryor. The most Republican-leaning state to have two Democratic senators is West Virginia, with Democrats Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin. The most Democratic-leaning state to have a Republican senator is Illinois, with Republican Mark Kirk. The least Republican-leaning state to have two Republican senators is Georgia, represented by Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, with no Democratic-leaning states at all having elected two Republicans as of the 2012 elections.

Five Republican-leaning states (the most Republican being Arkansas at R+14) have governors from the Democratic Party; eight Democratic-leaning states (the most Democratic being Maine and New Jersey at D+6) have governors from the Republican Party.

Virginia is the only state with an even PVI. Its House of Representatives delegation consists of eight Republicans and three Democrats, while both of its U.S. senators are Democrats. Iowa, Nevada, and New Jersey, with PVIs of D+1, D+2, and D+6, respectively, are the only states with evenly split House delegations. Massachusetts has the largest number of Representatives (nine) of the eight states that have entirely Democratic delegations; Oklahoma has the largest number of Representatives (five) of the ten states that have entirely Republican delegations. Note that the seven states with only one representative must be among these; two are Democratic (Delaware and Vermont) and five are Republican (Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Alaska).

By congressional district [edit]

This table is sourced from the Cook Political Report's 2012 analysis for districts of the 113th United States Congress, calculated according to the results of the 2008 and the 2012 U.S. presidential elections.[4] The party representations are based on the winners of the 2012 U.S. House elections. In the House, there are 241 districts that lean Republican and 185 districts that lean Democratic, while the number of swing seats has fallen to a record low of 9.[1]

State District PVI Party of
Representative
Alabama 1st R+15 Republican
Alabama 2nd R+17 Republican
Alabama 3rd R+16 Republican
Alabama 4th R+28 Republican
Alabama 5th R+17 Republican
Alabama 6th R+28 Republican
Alabama 7th D+20 Democratic
Alaska At-large R+12 Republican
Arizona 1st R+4 Democratic
Arizona 2nd R+3 Democratic
Arizona 3rd D+8 Democratic
Arizona 4th R+20 Republican
Arizona 5th R+17 Republican
Arizona 6th R+12 Republican
Arizona 7th D+16 Democratic
Arizona 8th R+15 Republican
Arizona 9th R+1 Democratic
Arkansas 1st R+14 Republican
Arkansas 2nd R+8 Republican
Arkansas 3rd R+19 Republican
Arkansas 4th R+15 Republican
California 1st R+10 Republican
California 2nd D+20 Democratic
California 3rd D+3 Democratic
California 4th R+10 Republican
California 5th D+19 Democratic
California 6th D+18 Democratic
California 7th EVEN Democratic
California 8th R+10 Republican
California 9th D+6 Democratic
California 10th R+1 Republican
California 11th D+17 Democratic
California 12th D+34 Democratic
California 13th D+37 Democratic
California 14th D+23 Democratic
California 15th D+16 Democratic
California 16th D+7 Democratic
California 17th D+20 Democratic
California 18th D+18 Democratic
California 19th D+19 Democratic
California 20th D+21 Democratic
California 21st D+2 Republican
California 22nd R+10 Republican
California 23rd R+16 Republican
California 24th D+4 Democratic
California 25th R+3 Republican
California 26th D+4 Democratic
California 27th D+11 Democratic
California 28th D+20 Democratic
California 29th D+25 Democratic
California 30th D+14 Democratic
California 31st D+5 Republican
California 32nd D+12 Democratic
California 33rd D+11 Democratic
California 34th D+30 Democratic
California 35th D+15 Democratic
California 36th R+1 Democratic
California 37th D+34 Democratic
California 38th D+12 Democratic
California 39th R+5 Republican
California 40th D+29 Democratic
California 41st D+9 Democratic
California 42nd R+10 Republican
California 43rd D+26 Democratic
California 44th D+32 Democratic
California 45th R+7 Republican
California 46th D+9 Democratic
California 47th D+8 Democratic
California 48th R+7 Republican
California 49th R+4 Republican
California 50th R+14 Republican
California 51st D+16 Democratic
California 52nd D+2 Democratic
California 53rd D+10 Democratic
Colorado 1st D+18 Democratic
Colorado 2nd D+8 Democratic
Colorado 3rd R+5 Republican
Colorado 4th R+11 Republican
Colorado 5th R+13 Republican
Colorado 6th D+1 Republican
Colorado 7th D+5 Democratic
Connecticut 1st D+13 Democratic
Connecticut 2nd D+5 Democratic
Connecticut 3rd D+11 Democratic
Connecticut 4th D+5 Democratic
Connecticut 5th D+3 Democratic
Delaware At-large D+8 Democratic
District of Columbia At-large D+40 Democratic
Florida 1st R+21 Republican
Florida 2nd R+6 Republican
Florida 3rd R+14 Republican
Florida 4th R+19 Republican
Florida 5th D+21 Democratic
Florida 6th R+9 Republican
Florida 7th R+4 Republican
Florida 8th R+9 Republican
Florida 9th D+8 Democratic
Florida 10th R+6 Republican
Florida 11th R+11 Republican
Florida 12th R+7 Republican
Florida 13th R+1 Republican
Florida 14th D+13 Democratic
Florida 15th R+6 Republican
Florida 16th R+6 Republican
Florida 17th R+10 Republican
Florida 18th R+3 Democratic
Florida 19th R+12 Republican
Florida 20th D+29 Democratic
Florida 21st D+10 Democratic
Florida 22nd D+3 Democratic
Florida 23rd D+9 Democratic
Florida 24th D+34 Democratic
Florida 25th R+5 Republican
Florida 26th R+1 Democratic
Florida 27th R+2 Republican
Georgia 1st R+9 Republican
Georgia 2nd D+6 Democratic
Georgia 3rd R+19 Republican
Georgia 4th D+21 Democratic
Georgia 5th D+32 Democratic
Georgia 6th R+14 Republican
Georgia 7th R+14 Republican
Georgia 8th R+15 Republican
Georgia 9th R+30 Republican
Georgia 10th R+14 Republican
Georgia 11th R+19 Republican
Georgia 12th R+9 Democratic
Georgia 13th D+16 Democratic
Georgia 14th R+26 Republican
Hawaii 1st D+18 Democratic
Hawaii 2nd D+21 Democratic
Idaho 1st R+18 Republican
Idaho 2nd R+17 Republican
Illinois 1st D+28 Democratic
Illinois 2nd D+29 Democratic
Illinois 3rd D+5 Democratic
Illinois 4th D+29 Democratic
Illinois 5th D+16 Democratic
Illinois 6th R+4 Republican
Illinois 7th D+36 Democratic
Illinois 8th D+8 Democratic
Illinois 9th D+15 Democratic
Illinois 10th D+8 Democratic
Illinois 11th D+8 Democratic
Illinois 12th EVEN Democratic
Illinois 13th EVEN Republican
Illinois 14th R+5 Republican
Illinois 15th R+14 Republican
Illinois 16th R+4 Republican
Illinois 17th D+7 Democratic
Illinois 18th R+11 Republican
Indiana 1st D+10 Democratic
Indiana 2nd R+6 Republican
Indiana 3rd R+13 Republican
Indiana 4th R+11 Republican
Indiana 5th R+9 Republican
Indiana 6th R+12 Republican
Indiana 7th D+13 Democratic
Indiana 8th R+8 Republican
Indiana 9th R+9 Republican
Iowa 1st D+5 Democratic
Iowa 2nd D+4 Democratic
Iowa 3rd EVEN Republican
Iowa 4th R+5 Republican
Kansas 1st R+23 Republican
Kansas 2nd R+8 Republican
Kansas 3rd R+6 Republican
Kansas 4th R+14 Republican
Kentucky 1st R+18 Republican
Kentucky 2nd R+16 Republican
Kentucky 3rd D+4 Democratic
Kentucky 4th R+16 Republican
Kentucky 5th R+25 Republican
Kentucky 6th R+9 Republican
Louisiana 1st R+26 Republican
Louisiana 2nd D+23 Democratic
Louisiana 3rd R+19 Republican
Louisiana 4th R+13 Republican
Louisiana 5th R+15 Republican
Louisiana 6th R+21 Republican
Maine 1st D+9 Democratic
Maine 2nd D+2 Democratic
Maryland 1st R+14 Republican
Maryland 2nd D+10 Democratic
Maryland 3rd D+9 Democratic
Maryland 4th D+26 Democratic
Maryland 5th D+14 Democratic
Maryland 6th D+4 Democratic
Maryland 7th D+24 Democratic
Maryland 8th D+11 Democratic
Massachusetts 1st D+13 Democratic
Massachusetts 2nd D+8 Democratic
Massachusetts 3rd D+6 Democratic
Massachusetts 4th D+6 Democratic
Massachusetts 5th D+14 Democratic
Massachusetts 6th D+4 Democratic
Massachusetts 7th D+31 Democratic
Massachusetts 8th D+6 Democratic
Massachusetts 9th D+5 Democratic
Michigan 1st R+5 Republican
Michigan 2nd R+7 Republican
Michigan 3rd R+4 Republican
Michigan 4th R+5 Republican
Michigan 5th D+10 Democratic
Michigan 6th R+1 Republican
Michigan 7th R+3 Republican
Michigan 8th R+2 Republican
Michigan 9th D+6 Democratic
Michigan 10th R+6 Republican
Michigan 11th R+4 Republican
Michigan 12th D+15 Democratic
Michigan 13th D+34 Democratic
Michigan 14th D+29 Democratic
Minnesota 1st R+1 Democratic
Minnesota 2nd R+2 Republican
Minnesota 3rd R+2 Republican
Minnesota 4th D+11 Democratic
Minnesota 5th D+22 Democratic
Minnesota 6th R+10 Republican
Minnesota 7th R+6 Democratic
Minnesota 8th D+1 Democratic
Mississippi 1st R+16 Republican
Mississippi 2nd D+13 Democratic
Mississippi 3rd R+14 Republican
Mississippi 4th R+21 Republican
Missouri 1st D+28 Democratic
Missouri 2nd R+8 Republican
Missouri 3rd R+13 Republican
Missouri 4th R+13 Republican
Missouri 5th D+9 Democratic
Missouri 6th R+12 Republican
Missouri 7th R+19 Republican
Missouri 8th R+17 Republican
Montana At-large R+7 Republican
Nebraska 1st R+10 Republican
Nebraska 2nd R+4 Republican
Nebraska 3rd R+23 Republican
Nevada 1st D+14 Democratic
Nevada 2nd R+5 Republican
Nevada 3rd EVEN Republican
Nevada 4th D+4 Democratic
New Hampshire 1st R+1 Democratic
New Hampshire 2nd D+3 Democratic
New Jersey 1st D+13 Democratic
New Jersey 2nd D+1 Republican
New Jersey 3rd R+1 Republican
New Jersey 4th R+7 Republican
New Jersey 5th R+4 Republican
New Jersey 6th D+8 Democratic
New Jersey 7th R+6 Republican
New Jersey 8th D+24 Democratic
New Jersey 9th D+14 Democratic
New Jersey 10th D+34 Democratic
New Jersey 11th R+6 Republican
New Jersey 12th D+14 Democratic
New Mexico 1st D+7 Democratic
New Mexico 2nd R+5 Republican
New Mexico 3rd D+8 Democratic
New York 1st R+2 Democratic
New York 2nd R+1 Republican
New York 3rd EVEN Democratic
New York 4th D+3 Democratic
New York 5th D+35 Democratic
New York 6th D+13 Democratic
New York 7th D+34 Democratic
New York 8th D+35 Democratic
New York 9th D+32 Democratic
New York 10th D+23 Democratic
New York 11th R+2 Republican
New York 12th D+27 Democratic
New York 13th D+42 Democratic
New York 14th D+26 Democratic
New York 15th D+43 Democratic
New York 16th D+21 Democratic
New York 17th D+5 Democratic
New York 18th EVEN Democratic
New York 19th D+1 Republican
New York 20th D+7 Democratic
New York 21st EVEN Democratic
New York 22nd R+3 Republican
New York 23rd R+3 Republican
New York 24th D+5 Democratic
New York 25th D+7 Democratic
New York 26th D+12 Democratic
New York 27th R+8 Republican
North Carolina 1st D+19 Democratic
North Carolina 2nd R+10 Republican
North Carolina 3rd R+11 Republican
North Carolina 4th D+20 Democratic
North Carolina 5th R+11 Republican
North Carolina 6th R+10 Republican
North Carolina 7th R+12 Democratic
North Carolina 8th R+11 Republican
North Carolina 9th R+8 Republican
North Carolina 10th R+11 Republican
North Carolina 11th R+13 Republican
North Carolina 12th D+26 Democratic
North Carolina 13th R+8 Republican
North Dakota At-large R+10 Republican
Ohio 1st R+6 Republican
Ohio 2nd R+8 Republican
Ohio 3rd D+17 Democratic
Ohio 4th R+9 Republican
Ohio 5th R+7 Republican
Ohio 6th R+8 Republican
Ohio 7th R+6 Republican
Ohio 8th R+15 Republican
Ohio 9th D+15 Democratic
Ohio 10th R+3 Republican
Ohio 11th D+30 Democratic
Ohio 12th R+8 Republican
Ohio 13th D+11 Democratic
Ohio 14th R+4 Republican
Ohio 15th R+6 Republican
Ohio 16th R+6 Republican
Oklahoma 1st R+18 Republican
Oklahoma 2nd R+20 Republican
Oklahoma 3rd R+26 Republican
Oklahoma 4th R+19 Republican
Oklahoma 5th R+12 Republican
Oregon 1st D+7 Democratic
Oregon 2nd R+10 Republican
Oregon 3rd D+22 Democratic
Oregon 4th D+2 Democratic
Oregon 5th EVEN Democratic
Pennsylvania 1st D+28 Democratic
Pennsylvania 2nd D+38 Democratic
Pennsylvania 3rd R+8 Republican
Pennsylvania 4th R+9 Republican
Pennsylvania 5th R+8 Republican
Pennsylvania 6th R+2 Republican
Pennsylvania 7th R+2 Republican
Pennsylvania 8th R+1 Republican
Pennsylvania 9th R+14 Republican
Pennsylvania 10th R+12 Republican
Pennsylvania 11th R+6 Republican
Pennsylvania 12th R+9 Republican
Pennsylvania 13th D+13 Democratic
Pennsylvania 14th D+15 Democratic
Pennsylvania 15th R+2 Republican
Pennsylvania 16th R+4 Republican
Pennsylvania 17th D+4 Democratic
Pennsylvania 18th R+10 Republican
Rhode Island 1st D+15 Democratic
Rhode Island 2nd D+8 Democratic
South Carolina 1st R+11 Republican
South Carolina 2nd R+16 Republican
South Carolina 3rd R+18 Republican
South Carolina 4th R+15 Republican
South Carolina 5th R+9 Republican
South Carolina 6th D+21 Democratic
South Carolina 7th R+7 Republican
South Dakota At-large R+10 Republican
Tennessee 1st R+25 Republican
Tennessee 2nd R+20 Republican
Tennessee 3rd R+16 Republican
Tennessee 4th R+18 Republican
Tennessee 5th D+5 Democratic
Tennessee 6th R+21 Republican
Tennessee 7th R+18 Republican
Tennessee 8th R+19 Republican
Tennessee 9th D+25 Democratic
Texas 1st R+24 Republican
Texas 2nd R+16 Republican
Texas 3rd R+17 Republican
Texas 4th R+25 Republican
Texas 5th R+17 Republican
Texas 6th R+11 Republican
Texas 7th R+13 Republican
Texas 8th R+29 Republican
Texas 9th D+25 Democratic
Texas 10th R+11 Republican
Texas 11th R+31 Republican
Texas 12th R+19 Republican
Texas 13th R+32 Republican
Texas 14th R+12 Republican
Texas 15th D+5 Democratic
Texas 16th D+12 Democratic
Texas 17th R+13 Republican
Texas 18th D+24 Democratic
Texas 19th R+26 Republican
Texas 20th D+6 Democratic
Texas 21st R+12 Republican
Texas 22nd R+15 Republican
Texas 23rd R+3 Democratic
Texas 24th R+13 Republican
Texas 25th R+12 Republican
Texas 26th R+20 Republican
Texas 27th R+13 Republican
Texas 28th D+7 Democratic
Texas 29th D+12 Democratic
Texas 30th D+27 Democratic
Texas 31st R+12 Republican
Texas 32nd R+10 Republican
Texas 33rd D+18 Democratic
Texas 34th D+8 Democratic
Texas 35th D+11 Democratic
Texas 36th R+25 Republican
Utah 1st R+27 Republican
Utah 2nd R+18 Republican
Utah 3rd R+28 Republican
Utah 4th R+16 Democratic
Vermont At-large D+16 Democratic
Virginia 1st R+6 Republican
Virginia 2nd R+2 Republican
Virginia 3rd D+27 Democratic
Virginia 4th R+4 Republican
Virginia 5th R+5 Republican
Virginia 6th R+12 Republican
Virginia 7th R+10 Republican
Virginia 8th D+16 Democratic
Virginia 9th R+15 Republican
Virginia 10th R+2 Republican
Virginia 11th D+10 Democratic
Washington 1st D+4 Democratic
Washington 2nd D+8 Democratic
Washington 3rd R+2 Republican
Washington 4th R+13 Republican
Washington 5th R+7 Republican
Washington 6th D+5 Democratic
Washington 7th D+29 Democratic
Washington 8th R+1 Republican
Washington 9th D+17 Democratic
Washington 10th D+5 Democratic
West Virginia 1st R+14 Republican
West Virginia 2nd R+11 Republican
West Virginia 3rd R+14 Democratic
Wisconsin 1st R+3 Republican
Wisconsin 2nd D+17 Democratic
Wisconsin 3rd D+5 Democratic
Wisconsin 4th D+23 Democratic
Wisconsin 5th R+13 Republican
Wisconsin 6th R+5 Republican
Wisconsin 7th R+2 Republican
Wisconsin 8th R+2 Republican
Wyoming At-large R+22 Republican

The following districts are not ranked on the Cook PVI, as they are territories that do not participate in presidential elections. Each is represented by a non-voting delegate.

Territory District PVI Party of
Delegate
American Samoa At-large N/A Democratic
Guam At-large N/A Democratic
Northern Mariana Islands At-large N/A Democratic
Puerto Rico At-large N/A Democratic
United States Virgin Islands At-large N/A Democratic

By state [edit]

The PVIs for states are calculated based on the 2008 and 2012 presidential election. The party representations are based on the winners of the 2012 general election.

State PVI Party of
Governor		 Party
in Senate		 House
balance
Alabama R+14 Republican Republican 6R, 1D
Alaska R+12 Republican Both 1R
Arizona R+7 Republican Republican 5D, 4R
Arkansas R+14 Democratic Both 4R
California D+9 Democratic Democratic 38D, 15R
Colorado D+1 Democratic Democratic 4R, 3D
Connecticut D+7 Democratic Democratic 5D
Delaware D+8 Democratic Democratic 1D
Florida R+2 Republican Both 17R, 10D
Georgia R+6 Republican Republican 9R, 5D
Hawaii D+20 Democratic Democratic 2D
Idaho R+18 Republican Republican 2R
Illinois D+8 Democratic Both 12D, 6R
Indiana R+5 Republican Both 7R, 2D
Iowa D+1 Republican Both EVEN 2-2
Kansas R+12 Republican Republican 4R
Kentucky R+13 Democratic Republican 5R, 1D
Louisiana R+12 Republican Both 5R, 1D
Maine D+6 Republican Both* 2D
Maryland D+10 Democratic Democratic 7D, 1R
Massachusetts D+10 Democratic Democratic 9D
Michigan D+4 Republican Democratic 9R, 5D
Minnesota D+2 Democratic Democratic 5D, 3R
Mississippi R+9 Republican Republican 3R, 1D
Missouri R+5 Democratic Both 6R, 2D
Montana R+7 Democratic Democratic 1R
Nebraska R+12 Republican Republican 3R
Nevada D+2 Republican Both EVEN 2-2
New Hampshire D+1 Democratic Both 2D
New Jersey D+6 Republican Democratic EVEN 6-6
New Mexico D+4 Republican Democratic 2D, 1R
New York D+11 Democratic Democratic 21D, 6R
North Carolina R+3 Republican Both 9R, 4D
North Dakota R+10 Republican Both 1R
Ohio R+1 Republican Both 12R, 4D
Oklahoma R+19 Republican Republican 5R
Oregon D+5 Democratic Democratic 4D, 1R
Pennsylvania D+1 Republican Both 13R, 5D
Rhode Island D+11 Independent Democratic 2D
South Carolina R+8 Republican Republican 6R, 1D
South Dakota R+10 Republican Both 1R
Tennessee R+12 Republican Republican 7R, 2D
Texas R+10 Republican Republican 24R, 12D
Utah R+22 Republican Republican 3R, 1D
Vermont D+16 Democratic Democratic* 1D
Virginia EVEN Republican Democratic 8R, 3D
Washington D+5 Democratic Democratic 6D, 4R
West Virginia R+13 Democratic Democratic 2R, 1D
Wisconsin D+2 Republican Both 5R, 3D
Wyoming R+22 Republican Republican 1R

*An independent senator caucuses with the Democrats.

By state legislative districts [edit]

In 2011, Yale freshman Matthew Breuer extended this analysis to legislative districts, referring to it as the "Legislative District Index."[5]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Wasserman, David (October 11, 2012). "House About PVI". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved November 17, 2012. 
  2. ^ "Monopoly Politics". Center for Voting and Democracy. July 1997. Retrieved November 17, 2012. 
  3. ^ "Cook Releases 2008 PVIs, With a Change SSPers Will Like". Swing State Project. April 9, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2012. 
  4. ^ "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved November 17, 2012. 
  5. ^ Remsen, Nancy (July 16, 2011). "Prognosticating Prodigy". Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont). pp. 1A. 
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