View source for Red states and blue states

{{Short description|U.S. states that vote predominantly for Democrats (blue) or Republicans (red)}}
{{redirect2|Red state|Blue state|other uses|Red State (disambiguation){{!}}Red State|and|Blue State (disambiguation){{!}}Blue State}}
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Red state, blue state.svg|thumb|350px|Summary of statewide results of the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]], [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]] and [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]] presidential elections by state
{{legend|#ff0000|Won by the Republicans in all four elections}}
{{legend|#ff8080|Won by the Republicans in three of the four elections}}
{{legend|#a000a0|Won by each party twice in the four elections}}
{{legend|#80a0ff|Won by the Democrats in three of the four elections}}
{{legend|#0000ff|Won by the Democrats in all four elections}}]]
[[File:Most recent senate election.svg|alt=Map of the last Senate election in each state|thumb|350px|Map based on last Senate election in each state as of 2024]]
Starting with the [[2000 United States presidential election]], the terms "'''red state'''" and "'''blue state'''" have referred to [[US state]]s whose voters vote predominantly for one party—the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in red states and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in blue states—in presidential and other statewide elections.<ref name=latmpexp16>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-electoral-map-20161102-htmlstory.html |work=Los Angeles Times |last=Battaglio |first=Stephen |title=When red meant Democratic and blue was Republican. A brief history of TV electoral maps |date=November 3, 2016 |access-date=November 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name=smithsonian12>{{cite news|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-republicans-were-blue-and-democrats-were-red-104176297/ |work=Smithsonian Magazine |last=Enda |first=Jodi| title= When Republicans Were Blue and Democrats Were Red |date=November 2, 2020 |access-date=June 9, 2024}}</ref> By contrast, states where the vote fluctuates between the Democratic and Republican candidates are known as "[[swing states]]" or "'''[[purple states]]'''". Examining patterns within states reveals that the [[Sixth Party System#Scholarly perspectives|reversal]] of the two parties' geographic bases has happened at the state level, but it is more complicated locally, with urban-rural divides associated with many of the largest changes.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|last1=Gelman|first1=Andrew|year=2014|title=The Twentieth-Century Reversal: How Did the Republican States Switch to the Democrats and Vice Versa?|journal=Statistics and Public Policy|volume=1|pages=1–5|citeseerx=10.1.1.309.9174|doi=10.1080/2330443X.2013.856147|s2cid=154240829}}</ref>
[[File:118th United States Congress Senators.svg|thumb|350x350px|Incumbent senators. Red and blue denote two Republican or two Democratic senators respectively. Purple states denote one Republican and one Democrat from the state. Light blue stripes denote one Independent senator (who caucuses with the Democrats).]]
All states contain considerable numbers of both liberal and conservative voters (i.e., they are "purple") and only appear blue or red on the electoral map because of the [[Plurality voting|winner-take-all]] system used by most states in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2013/11/12/most-americans-live-in-purple-america-not-red-or-blue-america/|title=Most Americans live in Purple America, not Red or Blue America|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=September 9, 2016}}</ref> However, the perception of some states as "blue" and some as "red" was reinforced by a degree of partisan stability from election to election—from the [[U.S. presidential election, 2016|2016 presidential election]] to the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]], only five states changed "color"; and as of [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]], 35 out of 50 states have voted for the same party in every presidential election since the red-blue terminology was popularized in 2000, with only 15 having swung between [[2000 United States presidential election|the 2000 presidential election]] and [[2020 United States presidential election|the 2020 election.]] Although many red states and blue states stay in the same category for long periods, they may also switch from blue to red or from red to blue over time.

==Origins of the color schematics==
The colors red and blue are also featured on the [[Flag of the United States|United States flag]]. Traditional political mapmakers, at least throughout the 20th century, had used blue to represent the modern-day Republicans, as well as the earlier [[Federalist Party]]. This may have been a holdover from the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], during which the predominantly Republican north was considered {{nowrap|"blue".<ref name="polidata1">[http://www.polidata.org/elections/red_states_blues_de27a.pdf Polidata] (accessed November 25, 2008).</ref>}} However, at that time, a maker of widely sold maps accompanied them with blue pencils to mark Confederate force movements, while red was for the Union.<ref>{{cite web|title=News of the Wired|first=Susan |last=Schelten |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/news-of-the-wired/ |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 13, 2012 |access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref>

Later, in the [[1888 United States presidential election|1888 presidential election]], [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[Benjamin Harrison]] used maps that coded blue for the Republicans, the color perceived to represent the Union and "[[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]]'s Party", and red for the Democrats. The parties themselves had no official colors, with candidates variously using either or both of the national color palette of red and blue (white being unsuitable for printed materials).

There was one historical use, associated with [[Political boss|boss rule]], of blue for Democrats and red for Republicans: during the late 19th century and early 20th century, [[Texas]] county election boards used color-coding to help Spanish-speaking and [[literacy|illiterate]] voters identify the parties;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pqrsu|title=Handbook of Texas Online – REDS AND BLUES|work=tshaonline.org|access-date=November 7, 2014|date=June 15, 2010}}</ref> however, this system was not applied consistently in Texas and was not replicated in any other state. In 1908, ''[[The New York Times]]'' printed a special color map, using blue for Democrats and yellow for Republicans, to detail [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s [[1904 United States presidential election|1904 electoral victory]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://100yearsagotoday.blogspot.de/2008/07/july-26-1908-sunday.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120925031120/http://100yearsagotoday.blogspot.de/2008/07/july-26-1908-sunday.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-09-25|title=Blogger|access-date=September 9, 2016}}</ref> That same year, a color [[supplement (publishing)|supplement]] included with a July issue of ''The Washington Post'' used red for Republican-favoring states, blue for Democratic-favoring states, yellow for "doubtful" states and green for [[Territories of the United States|territories]] that did not have a presidential vote.<ref name="visthesa08">{{cite web| title= Thinking about Tim Russert, Red States and Blue States | url= http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1430/ | date= June 17, 2008 | first= Ben | last= Zimmer | publisher= Visual Thesaurus | access-date=November 4, 2010| author-link= Ben Zimmer }}</ref>

===Contrast with other/original color usage and in other countries===
[[File:118th US Congress House.svg|thumb|350x350px|Incumbent House of Representative members by state. The darker the shade, the higher percentage of members of that party. Dark blue and red are 100% members of the party. Purple states are evenly split.]]
The 21st-century association of colors in American politics is contrary to the long-standing conventions of [[political color]] in most other countries whereby red symbols (such as the [[Red flag (politics)|red flag]] or [[red star]]) are associated with [[left-wing politics|leftist politics]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/BOTTOM/faq.php|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections – FAQ|work=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref> including such red states (original term in USA<ref>{{Cite magazine|year=1930|title=RUSSIA: Everybody's Red Business|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|year=1951|title=CHINA: Cultural Aggression|magazine=Time}}</ref>) with such governments, such as [[Red China]], whereas blue is associated with [[conservatism]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Sean |url=https://archive.org/details/colordesignworkb0000ston/page/86 |title=Color Design Workbook: A Real World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design |last2=Morioka |first2=Noreen |last3=Stone |first3=Terry Lee |date=2006 |publisher=[[Rockport Publishers]] |isbn=159253192X |location=Gloucester, Mass. |pages=[https://archive.org/details/colordesignworkb0000ston/page/86 86] |oclc=60393965}}</ref> As late as the 1990s, Democrats were often represented by red and Republicans by blue.<ref name=latmpexp16/> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', journalist [[Tim Russert]] invented these terms during his televised coverage of the [[2000 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4459759|title=NBC News About Meet the Press|website=[[NBC News]]|date=March 5, 2004 |access-date=June 13, 2008}}</ref> The 2000 election was not the first during which the [[news media]] used colored maps to depict voter preferences in the various states, but it was the first time the current red-blue terminology was used. In previous elections, the color assignments or even the actual colors used were often different.

===Contemporary use===
The advent of [[color television]] in America during the late 1950s and early 1960s prompted television news reporters to rely on color-coded electoral maps, though sources conflict as to the conventions they used. One source claims that in the elections prior to 2000 every state that voted for Democratic candidates but one had been coded red. It further claims that from [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]] to [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]], in an attempt to avoid favoritism in color-coding, the broadcast networks standardized the convention of alternating every four years between blue and red the color used for the incumbent [[President of the United States|president]]'s party.<ref name="visthesa08" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Drum |first=Kevin |date=November 14, 2004 |title=Red States and Blue States .... Explained! |url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_11/005157.php |magazine=[[The Washington Monthly]] |access-date=November 4, 2010}}</ref>

According to another source, in 1976, [[John Chancellor]], the anchorman for ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'', asked his network's engineers to construct a large illuminated map of the United States. The map was placed in the network's election-night news studio. If [[Jimmy Carter]], the Democratic candidate that year, won a state, it was lit in red whereas if [[Gerald Ford]], the incumbent Republican president, won a state, it was lit {{nowrap|in blue.<ref name=latmpexp16/>}} It was said that Roy Wetzel, then the newly minted general manager of NBC’s election unit, justified the color scheme of blue for Republicans and red for Democrats for a simple reason: "Great Britain. Without giving it a second thought, we said blue for conservatives, because that’s what the parliamentary system in London is, red for the more liberal party. And that settled it. We just did it. Forget all that communist red stuff. It didn’t occur to us. When I first heard it, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s really {{nowrap|silly.’”<ref name=smithsonian12/>}} The feature proved to be so popular that, [[1980 United States presidential election|four years later]], all three major television networks used colors to designate the states won by the presidential candidates, though not all using the same color scheme. NBC continued its color scheme (blue for Republicans) {{nowrap|until [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]].<ref name=latmpexp16/>}} NBC newsman [[David Brinkley]] referred to the 1980 election map outcome showing Republican [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 44-state landslide in blue as resembling a "suburban {{nowrap|swimming pool".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zeller |first=Tom |date=February 8, 2004 |title=Ideas & Trends; One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State |work=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E3DE163AF93BA35751C0A9629C8B63 |access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref>}}

Since the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 election]], [[CBS News|CBS]] has used the opposite scheme: blue for Democrats, red for Republicans. [[ABC News (United States)|ABC]] used yellow for Republicans and blue for Democrats in 1976, then red for Republicans and blue for Democrats in 1980, 1984, and 1988. In 1980, when [[John B. Anderson|John Anderson]] had a relatively well publicized campaign as an independent candidate, at least one network indicated provisionally that they would use yellow if he were to win a state. Similarly, at least one network would have used yellow to indicate a state won by [[Ross Perot]] in [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]] and [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]], though neither of them did claim any states in any of these years.

By 1996, color schemes were relatively mixed, as [[CNN]], CBS, ABC, and ''The New York Times'' referred to Democratic states with the color blue and Republican ones as red, while ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' and ''The Washington Post'' used the opposite scheme.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.princeton.edu/~petehill/time-election-map-1996.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061122124004/http://www.princeton.edu/~petehill/time-election-map-1996.jpg |archive-date=November 22, 2006 |format=JPG |title=Time Election Map |date=1996 |language=en |website=[[Princeton University]] |access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Walter |date=November 6, 1996 |title=Those Special Election Bells, Whistles and, Yes, Some Numbers, Too |work=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E1D61038F935A35752C1A960958260 |access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last=Apple | first=R. W. Jr. |date=November 7, 1996 |title=A Divided Government Remains, and With It the Prospect of Further Combat |work=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E2D81E38F934A35752C1A960958260 |access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> NBC used the color blue for the incumbent party, which is why blue represented the Democrats in 2000.

In the days after the 2000 election, the outcome of which was unknown for some time after election day, major media outlets began conforming to the same color scheme because the electoral map was continually in view, and conformity made for easy and instant viewer comprehension. On election night that year, there was no coordinated effort to code Democratic states blue and Republican states red; the association gradually emerged. Partly as a result of this eventual and near-universal color-coding, the terms "red states" and "blue states" entered popular use in the weeks after the 2000 presidential election. After the results were final with the Republican [[George W. Bush]] winning, journalists stuck with the color scheme, as ''[[The Atlantic]]'''s December 2001 cover story by [[David Brooks (journalist)|David Brooks]] entitled, "One Nation, Slightly Divisible", illustrated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=David |date=December 2001 |title=One Nation, Slightly Divisible |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2001/12/brooks.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713080544/http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2001/12/brooks.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 13, 2010 |access-date=November 2, 2010 |website=The Atlantic Monthly}}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=August 2024}}

Thus, red and blue became fixed in the media and in many people's minds, despite the fact that the Democratic and Republican parties had not officially chosen colors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brownstein |first=Ron |date=September 3, 2001 |title=Learn the signs of your political colors |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/09/03/red.blue.states/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403145047/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/09/03/red.blue.states/index.html |archive-date=April 3, 2013 |access-date=November 3, 2010|publisher=CNN}}</ref> Some Republicans argue the GOP should retain its historic association with blue, since most center-right parties worldwide are associated with blue. On March 14, 2014, the [[California Republican Party]] officially rejected red and adopted blue as its color. Archie Tse, ''The New York Times'' graphics editor who made the choice when the ''Times'' published its first color presidential election map in 2000, provided a nonpolitical rationale for retaining the red–Republican link, explaining that "Both 'Republican' and 'red' start with the letter 'R.'"<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 8, 2004 |title=Ideas & Trends; One State, Two State, Red State, Blue StateΨ Page 2 – New York Times |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/weekinreview/ideas-trends-one-state-two-state-red-state-blue-state.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm |access-date=November 8, 2012}}</ref>

==Map interpretation==
There are several problems in creating and interpreting election maps. Popular vote data are necessarily aggregated at several levels, such as counties and states, which are then colored to show election results. Maps of this type are termed [[choropleth map]]s, which have several well-known problems that can result in interpretation bias. One problem occurs when [[areal unit]]s differ in size and significance, as is the case with election maps. These maps give extra visual weight to larger areal units, whether by county or state. This problem is compounded if the units are not equally significant. A large county or state in area may have fewer voters than a small one in area, for example. Some maps attempt to account for this by using [[cartogram]] methods, but the resulting distortion can make such maps difficult to read.<ref name="CromleyMcLafferty2011">{{cite book|first1=Ellen K.|last1=Cromley|first2=Sara L.|last2=McLafferty|title=GIS and Public Health, Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhYbartcBn4C&pg=PA132|access-date=June 12, 2012|year=2011|publisher=Guilford Press|isbn=978-1-60918-750-7|page=132}}</ref><ref name="ArayaBreindl2011">{{cite book|first1=Daniel|last1=Araya|first2=Yana|last2=Breindl|first3=Tessa J.|last3=Houghton|title=Nexus: New Intersections in Internet Research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHpUwLau3OIC&pg=PA72|access-date=June 12, 2012|year=2011|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-1-4331-0970-6|page=72}}</ref> Another problem relates to data classification. Election maps often use a two-class color scheme (red and blue), which results in a map that is easy to read but is very generalized. Some maps use more classes, such as shades of red and blue to indicate the degree of election victory. These maps provide a more detailed picture but themselves have various problems associated with classification of data. The cartographer must choose how many classes to use and how to divide the data into those classes. While there are various techniques available, the choice is essentially arbitrary. The look of a map can vary significantly depending on the classification choices. The choices of color and shading likewise affect the map's appearance. Further, all election maps are subject to the interpretation error known as the [[ecological fallacy]].<ref>{{cite book|last= Martin |first= David |title= Geographic Information Systems: Socioeconomic Applications |year= 1996 |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 978-0-415-12571-0 |page= 170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e8Q6S-yZn_AC}}</ref>

Finally, there are problems associated with human perception.<ref name=senay>{{cite web |url=http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperVis/percept/visrules.htm |title= Rules and Principles of Scientific Data Visualization |last1= Senay |first1= Hikmet |last2= Ignatius |first2= Eve |publisher= Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The George Washington University |access-date= November 21, 2010 |quote= Saturation may be affected by the size of a colored figure, with greater exponents for smaller areas. The same color placed in a smaller area appears "denser" and hence, more saturated.}}</ref> Large areas of color appear more saturated than small areas of the same color.<ref name=senay /> A juxtaposition of differing colors and shades can result in contrast misperceptions. For example, due to the [[contrast effect|simultaneous contrast]] effect, the [[Bezold effect]], and other factors, an area shaded light red surrounded by areas shaded dark red will appear even lighter. Differing shades of red and blue compound this effect.<ref name="Birkhäuser">{{cite book |first1=Natalia |last1= Andrienko |first2= Gennady |last2= Andrienko |title= Exploratory Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Data: A Systematic Approach |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=t5MGtFEl_ScC&pg=PA219 |access-date=November 21, 2010 |year= 2006 |publisher= Birkhäuser |isbn= 978-3-540-25994-7 |pages= 217–221}}</ref>

Cartographers have traditionally limited the number of classes so that it is always obvious which class a color shade represents. Some election maps, however, have violated this tradition by simply coloring each areal unit with a red-blue mixture linked to voting ratio data—resulting in an "unclassified choropleth map". These "purple maps" are useful for showing the highly mixed nature of voting, but are extremely difficult to interpret in detail. The lack of clear classes make these purple maps prone to the problems of color perception described above. However, there are pros and cons to both classified and unclassified choropleth maps. Each tend to show some patterns well while obscuring others.<ref name="Birkhäuser" /> All these facts should be taken into account when looking at election maps.

===Critiques===
The paradigm has been criticized on several fronts. Many argue that assigning partisanship to states is only really useful as it pertains to the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], as well as (more recently) the Senate, primarily a winner-take-all system of elections (with the exceptions of Nebraska and Maine).

The Democratic or Republican party of a particular state may have policies that depart—sometimes greatly—from those of the national party, sometimes causing that state to favor one party in state and local elections and the other in presidential elections. This is most evident in the [[Southern United States]], where the state Democratic Party organizations tend to be more conservative than the national party, especially on social issues.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} Likewise, Republicans have elected many statewide officeholders in states that vote strongly Democratic in presidential elections, such as [[Massachusetts]], [[Illinois]], [[Maryland]], [[Vermont]], and [[New Jersey]], generally by running closer to the political center.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The elections in [[2004 United States presidential election in Arkansas|Arkansas]] as well as [[2004 United States presidential election in West Virginia|West Virginia]] in 2004 were won by Republican President [[George W. Bush]], but Democrats at the time held all four [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] seats and majorities of elected executive officeholders in those states, including the governorship of the latter. Similarly, [[2004 United States presidential election in Tennessee|Tennessee]] was won by Bush in both 2000 and 2004, but going into 2004, its governor was a Democrat and both chambers of the state legislature were controlled by Democrats as well. The converse can also be true, as in the case of [[2004 United States presidential election in Maine|Maine]], which had two Republican U.S. senators, but Democratic presidential candidate [[John Kerry]] won the state's electoral votes. Likewise, [[2004 United States presidential election in Vermont|Vermont]], [[2004 United States presidential election in New York|New York]], [[2004 United States presidential election in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]], [[2004 United States presidential election in Maryland|Maryland]], and [[2004 United States presidential election in Hawaii|Hawaii]] all voted for Democrat Kerry by wide margins, but all had Republican governors at the time.

In his address before the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Boston]], [[Barack Obama]] spoke on the issue of blue states and red states, saying: "The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into red states and blue states—red states for Republicans, and blue states for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome [[God]] in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach [[Little League Baseball|Little League]] in the blue states and have gay friends in the red states. … We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the [[Flag of the United States|Stars and Stripes]], all of us defending the United States of America."<ref name="keynote">{{cite news |last=Obama |first=Barack |date=July 27, 2004 |title=Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention |url=http://www.barackobama.com/2004/07/27/keynote_address_at_the_2004_de.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403144623/http://www.barackobama.com/2004/07/27/keynote_address_at_the_2004_de.php |archive-date=April 3, 2008 |access-date=April 4, 2008 |work=BarackObama.com}}</ref>

In April 2008, Republican presidential nominee [[John McCain]] predicted that the [[2008 United States presidential election|presidential election that November]] would not follow the red-state-blue-state pattern, saying, "I'm not sure that the old red state, blue state scenario that prevailed for the last several elections works. I think most of these states that we have either red or blue are going to be up for grabs."<ref>{{cite interview|last=McCain|first=John|subject-link=John McCain|interviewer=[[Chris Wallace (journalist)|Chris Wallace]]|publisher=[[Fox News]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|date=April 6, 2008|work=[[Fox News Sunday]]|title=McCain Fox News interview}}</ref> Arguably, this eventually proved to be somewhat true, but not in McCain's favor as Obama won three "red" states that had not voted Democratic in many years, namely [[Virginia]], [[North Carolina]], and [[Indiana]] along with a part of deep red Nebraska, via the state's (much less conservative as a whole) [[Nebraska's 2nd congressional district|second congressional district]]. Obama also came close to winning [[Missouri]] and [[Montana]], losing both by a small margin. The only deviations from the preexisting red-blue paradigm were all in Obama's favor. In the three presidential elections since 2008, Indiana and North Carolina went back to supporting Republicans. Virginia has continued voting for the Democratic presidential nominees (as well as increasingly electing Democrats at the state level), leading to its being reclassified as a blue state in recent years. Nebraska's 2nd district flipped back into the Republican column in [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]] and [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]], but supported Democrat [[Joe Biden]] in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].

==Purple states==
{{Main|Swing state}}

[[File:2016 Presidential Election by County (Red-Blue-Purple View).svg|thumb|350px|[[2016 United States presidential election]] results by [[county (United States)|county]], on a [[color spectrum]] from [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] blue to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] red]]
A purple state refers to a [[swing state]] where both Democratic and Republican candidates receive many votes without an overwhelming majority for either party. Purple states are also often referred to as "battleground" states.

The demographic and political applications of the terms have resulted in a temptation to presume this arbitrary classification is a definite and fundamental [[Culture of the United States|cultural]] division. Given the general nature and common perception of the two parties, "red state" implies a conservative region or a more conservative American, and "blue state" implies a more liberal region or a more liberal American. But the distinction between the two groups of states is less simplistic. The analysis that suggests political, cultural and demographic differences between the states is more accurate when applied to smaller geographical areas.

Traditionally, the practice of designating a U.S. state as red or blue is based on the [[First-past-the-post voting|first-past-the-post]] winner-take-all system employed for presidential elections by 48 of the 50 U.S. states and the [[District of Columbia]]. Electoral law in Maine and Nebraska makes it possible for those states to divide their electoral votes: winner-take-all both by congressional district and statewide.

Despite the prevalent winner-take-all practice, the minority party almost always gets a sizable vote, with the most strongly partisan states typically having 25% to 40% of the population vote for the losing party in a presidential election. Most states have strongly Democratic cities as well as strongly Republican rural areas.<ref name="patheos1">{{cite web|last=Rose|first=Phil Fox|title= We Are All Purple: The Destructive Lie of Red States and Blue States|url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philfoxrose/2012/11/we-are-all-purple-the-destructive-lie-of-red-states-and-blue-states/|work=Patheos|access-date=November 7, 2012|date=November 7, 2012}}</ref>

[[Robert Vanderbei]] at [[Princeton University]] made the first ''Purple America'' map after the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Election 2000 Results|url=https://vanderbei.princeton.edu/JAVA/election2000/|access-date=2021-02-08|website=vanderbei.princeton.edu}}</ref> It attempts to represent the margin of victory in each county by coloring each with a shade between true blue and true red. Due to the general absence of overwhelming victories, this technique results in mostly shades of purple. After the [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004 election]], Vanderbei and then others made similar maps summarizing the results. Quickly thereafter, the term ''Purple America'' entered the public lexicon as a way of stating that the United States is not as divided as the political pundits would have the people believe.

[[Cartogram]]s developed by Gastner, [[Cosma Shalizi|Shalizi]], and Newman at the [[University of Michigan]] provide another way to depict election results,<ref name="gastner2004">{{cite web |last=Gastner |first=Michael |author2=Shalizi, Cosma |author3=Newman, Mark |year=2004 |title=Maps and cartograms of the 2004 U.S. presidential election results |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2004/ |access-date=November 3, 2010 |publisher=University of Michigan}}</ref> which change from a red-blue paradigm to one of shades of purple.<ref name="patheos1" />

Forty-five of the 50 states were consistent in voting for Donald Trump or his Democratic opponent in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. The exceptions were [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Arizona]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[Michigan]] – all of which voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. [[Wisconsin]], [[Pennsylvania]] and particularly [[Michigan]] voted in [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]] and [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]] for [[Barack Obama|Obama]] handily, as well as having supported the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee in every presidential election since [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]], suggesting they are gradually becoming redder. Inversely, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Arizona]] had supported [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential candidates for decades before [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]], with Georgia last voting blue in [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]] and Arizona in [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]]. This suggests that [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Arizona]] are gradually becoming bluer.

Some states did not switch parties in [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]] or [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]], yet are/were still relatively even and often considered swing states. These include [[North Carolina]], [[Florida]], [[Ohio]], [[Nevada]], [[Iowa]], and [[New Hampshire]]. Occasionally, swing state maps might include [[Minnesota]], [[Maine]], [[Virginia]] and [[Texas]], which generally vote for one party ([[Minnesota]], [[Maine]] and [[Virginia]] generally [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]; [[Texas]] generally [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]) but still often see close elections.

==Polarization==
{{Main|Political polarization in the United States}}

[[File:Cartogram of 2008-2020 US presidential elections.svg|thumb|350px|Hexagonal cartogram summarizing the results of the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections by state (scaled by 2020 elector count)
{{legend|#ff3b3b|Won by the Republicans in all four elections}}
{{legend|#fe9898|Won by the Republicans in three of the four elections}}
{{legend|#b042cb|Won by each party twice in the four elections}}
{{legend|#64cbfe|Won by the Democrats in three of the four elections}}
{{legend|#0277c9|Won by the Democrats in all four elections}}
]]
Feelings of cultural and political [[polarization (politics)|polarization]] between red and blue states, which have gained increased media attention since the 2004 election, have resulted in increased mutual feelings of alienation and enmity.<ref>{{cite news|last=Finkel|first=David|title=For a Conservative, Life Is Sweet in Sugar Land, Tex|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A41964-2004Apr25?language=printer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810150702/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A41964-2004Apr25/?language=printer|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 10, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=November 3, 2010|date=April 26, 2004}}</ref> The polarization has been present for only four close elections (2000, 2004, 2016, and 2020). One trend that has been true for several election cycles is that states that vote Republican tend to be more rural and more sparsely populated (thus having fewer electoral votes) than states that vote Democratic. Polarization is more evident on a county scale with the growing percentage of the U.S. electorate living in "landslide counties", counties where the popular vote margin between the Democratic and Republican candidate is 20 percentage points or greater.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart|last=Bishop|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Bishop (author)|publisher=[[Mariner Books]]|isbn=978-0-54723-772-5|year=2009|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_o9h1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/30/electorally-competitive-counties-have-grown-scarcer-in-recent-decades/|last=DeSliver|first=Drew|title=Electorally competitive counties have grown scarcer in recent decades|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|date=June 30, 2016|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/10/us/politics/red-blue-divide-grew-stronger-in-2016.html|last1=Aisch|first1=Gregor|last2=Pearce|first2=Adam|last3=Yourish|first3=Karen|title=The Divide Between Red and Blue America Grew Even Deeper in 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 10, 2016|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref>

In [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]], only 27 percent of U.S. voters lived in landslide counties, which increased to 39 percent by [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]].<ref name="Haidt">{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/2012/04/10/born-this-way/|last=Haidt|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Haidt|title=Born This Way?|work=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason.com]]|date=May 2012|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Wasserman">{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/purple-america-has-all-but-disappeared/|last=Wasserman|first=David|title=Purple America Has All But Disappeared|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|date=March 8, 2017|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> Nearly half of U.S. voters resided in counties that voted for [[George W. Bush]] or [[John Kerry]] by 20 percentage points or more in [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]].<ref>[http://www.aei.org/docLib/20080229_BillBishop.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624204202/http://www.aei.org/docLib/20080229_BillBishop.pdf|date=June 24, 2008}}</ref> In [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], 48 percent of U.S. voters lived in such counties, which increased further to 50 percent in [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]] and to 61 percent in [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]].<ref name="Haidt"/><ref name="Wasserman"/> In [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]], 58 percent of U.S. voters lived in landslide counties.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bishop|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Bishop (author)|date=December 17, 2020|title=For Most Americans, the Local Presidential Vote Was a Landslide|website=[[Bill Bishop (author)|Daily Yonder]]|url=https://dailyyonder.com/for-most-americans-the-local-presidential-vote-was-a-landslide/2020/12/17/|access-date=August 3, 2021}}</ref> [[Cook Partisan Voting Index|At the same time]], the 2020 U.S. presidential election marked the ninth presidential election where the victorious [[Two party system#United States|major party]] nominee did not win a [[List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin|popular vote majority by a double-digit margin]] over the losing major party nominee(s), continuing the longest sequence of such presidential elections in U.S. history that began in [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]] and in 2016 eclipsed the previous longest sequence from [[1876 United States presidential election|1876]] through [[1900 United States presidential election|1900]].<ref name="Chinni">{{cite news|last=Chinni|first=Dante|title=Are close presidential elections the new normal?|date=December 6, 2020|work=[[NBC News]]|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/are-close-presidential-elections-new-normal-n1250147|access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Williams 2012 pp. 1539–1570">{{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Norman R.|title=Why the National Popular Vote Compact is Unconstitutional|year=2012|journal=[[BYU Law Review]]|publisher=[[J. Reuben Clark Law School]]|volume=2012|issue=5|pages=1539–1570|url=https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2686&context=lawreview|access-date=October 14, 2020}}</ref>

===Red-state/blue-state secession===
Various editorials<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/140948/bluexit-blue-states-exit-trump-red-america|title=Why Blue States Should Exit Red America|magazine=New Republic|access-date=December 12, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-voters--its-not-me-its-you/2016/11/21/92d7c884-b005-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html|title=Trump voters — it's not me, it's you|last=Keillor|first=Garrison|date=November 21, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 12, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>{{Who|date=October 2024}} have proposed that states of the U.S. secede and then form federations only with states that have voted for the same political party. These editorials note the increasingly polarized political strife in the U.S. between Republican voters and Democratic voters. They propose partition of the U.S. as a way of allowing both groups to achieve their policy goals while reducing the chances of civil war.{{Cn|date=October 2024}} 

A 2021 poll found that 52% of Trump voters and 41% of Biden voters support partitioning the United States into multiple countries based on political party lines.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsweek.com/majority-trump-voters-want-split-nation-red-blue-halves-1634523|title=Majority of Trump Voters Want to Split the Nation Into 'Red' and 'Blue' Halves|work=Newsweek|date=September 30, 2021|access-date=March 6, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/majority-trump-voters-believe-time-160443147.html|title=Majority of Trump voters believe it's 'time to split the country' in two, new poll finds|work=Yahoo! News|date=October 1, 2021|access-date=March 6, 2022|first1=Madison|last1=Hall|first2=Bryan|last2=Metzger}}</ref> A different poll that same year grouped the United States into five geographic regions, and found that 37% of Americans favored secession of their own region. 44% of Americans in the South favored secession, with Republican support at 66%; while Democratic support was 47% in the Pacific states.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Slisco |first1=Aila |title=47% of West Coast Dems, 66% of Southern Republicans want to secede from U.S. |url=https://www.newsweek.com/47-west-coast-dems-66-southern-republicans-want-secede-us-1609875 |work=Newsweek |date=14 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Shocking poll finds many Americans now want to secede from the United States |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/563221-shocking-poll-finds-many-americans-now-want-to/ |work=The Hill |date=15 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Still miles apart: Americans and the state of U.S. democracy half a year into the Biden presidency {{!}} Bright Line Watch |url=http://brightlinewatch.org/still-miles-apart-americans-and-the-state-of-u-s-democracy-half-a-year-into-the-biden-presidency/ |publisher=Bright Line Watch}}</ref>

==Demographics==
Although the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] determines the [[United States presidential election|presidential election]], a more precise measure of how the country actually voted may be better represented by either a county-by-county or a district-by-district map. By breaking the map down into smaller units (including many blue counties lying next to red counties), these maps tend to display many states with a purplish hue, thus demonstrating that an ostensibly blue or red state may, in fact, be closely divided. Note that election maps of all kinds are subject to [[#Critiques|errors of interpretation]].

===Urban versus rural===
These county-by-county and district-by-district maps reveal that the true nature of the divide is between [[urban area]]s and [[inner suburb]]s versus [[rural area|rural]] and [[exurb]]an areas. In the 2020 election, most voters in most rural counties voted for Republican [[Donald Trump]]. [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Nevada]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[Wisconsin]], all states Biden won statewide, are good examples of this with some exceptions. Inversely, in solidly red states, most voters in most urban counties voted for Democrat [[Joe Biden]]; good examples for this would be [[New Orleans|Orleans Parish]], [[Louisiana]], and [[Davidson County, Tennessee|Davidson County]], [[Tennessee]] (the locations of major U.S. cities [[New Orleans]] and [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], respectively). Both provided Biden with double-digit margins of victory over Trump. An even more detailed precinct-by-precinct breakdown demonstrates that in many cases, large cities voted for Biden, and their suburbs were divided.

===2020 exit polls===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Sex:
!Sex:
!Men
!Women
|-
|Donald Trump:
|'''<u>53</u>'''
|42
|-
|Joe Biden:
|45
|<u>'''57'''</u>
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Income
!Income:
!Under $30K
!30-50K
!50-100K
!100-200K
!200+K
|-
|Donald Trump:
|46
|44
|42
|'''<u>57</u>'''
|48
|-
|Joe Biden:
|'''<u>54</u>'''
|'''<u>56</u>'''
|'''<u>56</u>'''
|41
|48
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Age
!Age:
!18-25
!25-30
!30-40
!40-50
!50-60
!60+
|-
|Donald Trump:
|31
|43
|46
|44
|'''<u>52</u>'''
|'''<u>52</u>'''
|-
|Joe Biden:
|<u>'''65'''</u>
|'''<u>54</u>'''
|'''<u>51</u>'''
|'''<u>54</u>'''
|47
|47
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Marital Status:
!Marital Status:
!Married
!Unmarried
!Men, Married
!Men, Unmarried
!Women, Married
!Women, Unmarried
|-
|Donald Trump:
|<u>'''53'''</u>
|40
|<u>'''55'''</u>
|45
|42
|36
|-
|Joe Biden:
|45
|<u>'''58'''</u>
|43
|<u>'''52'''</u>
|<u>'''57'''</u>
|<u>'''62'''</u>
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Race:
!Race:
!White
!Black
!Latino
!Asian
!Other
|-
|Donald Trump:
|'''<u>58</u>'''
|12
|33
|36
|41
|-
|Joe Biden
|41
|'''<u>87</u>'''
|'''<u>65</u>'''
|'''<u>63</u>'''
|'''<u>55</u>'''
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Religion:
!Religion:
!Catholic
!Protestant/Other Christian
!Jewish
!None
!Other
|-
|Donald Trump:
|47
|'''<u>60</u>'''
|22
|31
|29
|-
|Joe Biden:
|'''<u>52</u>'''
|39
|'''<u>76</u>'''
|'''<u>65</u>'''
|'''<u>68</u>'''
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Sexual Orientation:
!Sexual Orientation:
!LGBT
!Not LGBT
|-
|Donald Trump:
|27
|48
|-
|Joe Biden:
|'''<u>64</u>'''
|'''<u>51</u>'''
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Area Type:
!Area Type:
!Urban
!Suburban
!Rural
|-
|Donald Trump:
|38
|48
|'''<u>57</u>'''
|-
|Joe Biden
|'''<u>60</u>'''
|'''<u>50</u>'''
|42
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Race and Sex:
!Race and Sex:
!White men
!White women
!Black men
!Black women
!Latino men
!Latino women
!Other
|-
|Donald Trump:
|'''<u>61</u>'''
|'''<u>55</u>'''
|19
|9
|36
|30
|38
|-
|Joe Biden:
|38
|44
|'''<u>79</u>'''
|'''<u>90</u>'''
|'''<u>59</u>'''
|'''<u>69</u>'''
|'''<u>58</u>'''
|}

===Table of presidential elections by states since 1972===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[1972 United States presidential election|1972]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[1980 United States presidential election|1980]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]
!  style="text-align:center; width:6.67%;"| [[2024 United States presidential election|2024]]
|-
! colspan="15"|
{{Colors|black|#34AAE0| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] }} &nbsp;
{{Colors|black|#FFB6B6| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] }} &nbsp;
<br>(lighter shading indicates win ≤5%)

<br/>{{Colors|black|#FFDDF4|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;}} Winner received plurality of the vote but did not receive an outright majority of the popular vote
<br/>{{Colors|black|#FFDEAD|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;}} Winner [[List of United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote|did not receive a plurality of the vote and lost the popular vote]]
<!-- <br/>{{Colors|black|lightgreen|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;}} Winner chosen by the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] -->
<!-- <br/>{{Colors|black|gray|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;}} Electoral votes invalidated -->
|-
| {{flagicon image|Democratic Disc.svg|25px}} Democratic candidate
| [[George McGovern]]
| '''[[Jimmy Carter]]'''
| [[Jimmy Carter]]
| [[Walter Mondale]]
| [[Michael Dukakis]]
| style="background:#ffddf4;"| '''[[Bill Clinton]]'''
| style="background:#ffddf4;"| '''[[Bill Clinton]]'''
| [[Al Gore]]
| [[John Kerry]]
| '''[[Barack Obama]]'''
| '''[[Barack Obama]]'''
| [[Hillary Clinton]]
| '''[[Joe Biden]]'''
| [[Kamala Harris]]
|-
| {{flagicon image|Republican Disc.svg|25px}} Republican candidate
|  '''[[Richard Nixon]]'''
| [[Gerald Ford]]
| '''[[Ronald Reagan]]'''
| '''[[Ronald Reagan]]'''
| '''[[George H. W. Bush]]'''
| [[George H. W. Bush]]
| [[Bob Dole]]
| style="background:#ffdead;"| '''[[George W. Bush]]'''
| '''[[George W. Bush]]'''
| [[John McCain]]
| [[Mitt Romney]]
| style="background:#ffdead;"| '''[[Donald Trump]]'''
| [[Donald Trump]]
| '''[[Donald Trump]]'''
|-
| nowrap="nowrap" align="left"|{{flagicon|USA}} National [[List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin|popular vote]]
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Gore
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Biden
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Alabama}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Alaska}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Arizona}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:lightblue;"| Biden
| TBD
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Arkansas}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|California}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Colorado}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Connecticut}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Delaware}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flagicon|District of Columbia}} [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| McGovern
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Mondale
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Florida}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flagicon|Georgia (U.S. state)}} [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:lightblue;"| Biden
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Hawaii}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Idaho}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Illinois}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Indiana}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Iowa}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Gore
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Kansas}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Kentucky}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Louisiana}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| rowspan=3 align="left"|{{flag|Maine}}
| rowspan=3 style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| rowspan=3 style="background:pink;"| Ford
| rowspan=3 style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| rowspan=3 style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| rowspan=3 style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| rowspan="2" style="background:#34AAE0;" | Clinton (at-large and [[Maine's 1st congressional district|ME-01]])
| rowspan=3 style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| bgcolor="#34aae0" rowspan="2" | Gore (at-large and [[Maine's 1st congressional district|ME-01]])
| rowspan=3 style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| rowspan=3 style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| rowspan=3 style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| bgcolor="lightblue"| Clinton {{nowrap|(at-large)}}
| bgcolor="#34aae0" rowspan="2" | Biden (at-large and [[Maine's 1st congressional district|ME-01]])
| bgcolor="#34aae0" rowspan="2" | Harris (at-large and [[Maine's 1st congressional district|ME-01]])
|-
| bgcolor="#34aae0" colspan="1" |Clinton ([[Maine's 1st congressional district|ME-01]])
|-
| colspan=1 bgcolor="lightblue"|Clinton ([[Maine's 2nd congressional district|ME-02]])
| colspan=1 bgcolor="lightblue"|Gore ([[Maine's 2nd congressional district|ME-02]])
| bgcolor="#ff8080" colspan="1" |Trump ([[Maine's 2nd congressional district|ME-02]])
| bgcolor="#ff8080" colspan="1" |Trump ([[Maine's 2nd congressional district|ME-02]])
| bgcolor="#ff8080" colspan="1" |Trump ([[Maine's 2nd congressional district|ME-02]])
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Maryland}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Massachusetts}}
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| McGovern
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Michigan}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:lightblue;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:lightblue;"| Biden
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Minnesota}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:lightblue;"| Mondale
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Gore
| style="background:lightblue;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:lightblue;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Mississippi}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Missouri}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Montana}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| rowspan=2 align="left"|{{flag|Nebraska}}
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| bgcolor="#ff8080" colspan="1" | McCain (at-large, [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district|NE-01]], [[Nebraska's 3rd congressional district|NE-03]])
| rowspan=2 style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| bgcolor="#ff8080" colspan="1" | Trump (at-large, [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district|NE-01]], [[Nebraska's 3rd congressional district|NE-03]])
| bgcolor="#ff8080" colspan="1" | Trump (at-large, [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district|NE-01]], [[Nebraska's 3rd congressional district|NE-03]])
| bgcolor="#ff8080" colspan="1" | Trump (at-large, [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district|NE-01]], [[Nebraska's 3rd congressional district|NE-03]])
|-
| colspan=1 bgcolor="lightblue"| Obama ([[Nebraska's 2nd congressional district|NE-02]])
| colspan=1 bgcolor="pink"| Trump ([[Nebraska's 2nd congressional district|NE-02]])
| colspan=1 style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden ([[Nebraska's 2nd congressional district|NE-02]])
| colspan=1 bgcolor="lightblue"| Harris ([[Nebraska's 2nd congressional district|NE-02]])
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Nevada}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Biden
| TBD
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|New Hampshire}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:lightblue;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|New Jersey}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:lightblue;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|New Mexico}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Gore
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:lightblue;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|New York}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:lightblue;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|North Carolina}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:pink;"| Romney
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|North Dakota}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Ohio}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Oklahoma}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Oregon}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:lightblue;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Gore
| style="background:lightblue;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Pennsylvania}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Gore
| style="background:lightblue;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:lightblue;"| Biden
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Rhode Island}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|South Carolina}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|South Dakota}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Tennessee}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Texas}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Utah}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Vermont}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Virginia}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Bush
| style="background:pink;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:lightblue;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flagicon|Washington (state)}} [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:pink;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:lightblue;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Gore
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Biden
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Harris
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|West Virginia}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Carter
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:lightblue;"| Dukakis
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Wisconsin}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:lightblue;"| Carter
| style="background:pink;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:lightblue;"| Dukakis
| style="background:lightblue;"| Clinton
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Clinton
| style="background:lightblue;"| Gore
| style="background:lightblue;"| Kerry
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:#34AAE0;"| Obama
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
| style="background:lightblue;"| Biden
| style="background:pink;"| Trump
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Wyoming}}
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Nixon
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Ford
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Reagan
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Dole
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Bush
| style="background:#FF8080;"| McCain
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Romney
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
| style="background:#FF8080;"| Trump
|}
{{Note|1|1}}: Split their votes.

==Reaction==
===United States===
The "Democratic blue" and "Republican red" color scheme is now part of the lexicon of American journalism.

Neither party national committee has officially accepted these color designations, though informal use by each party is becoming common. Both parties have since adopted logos that use their respective colors (a blue "D" for Democrats<ref>"[http://theweek.com/article/index/207105/democrats-new-logo-change-you-can-sell Democrats' new logo: Change you can sell?]" ''The Week''. September 16, 2010. Retrieved 2014-11-14.</ref> and a red "GOP" for Republicans). [[United States presidential nominating convention|National conventions]] for both major parties increasingly feature the parties' respective colors, from the colors emphasized on convention podiums to the color conventioneers can be seen wearing on the delegate floor. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also alluded the color scheme when it launched a national "Red to Blue Program" in 2006.<ref>[http://www.dccc.org/news/Red_to_Blue/index.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061002041317/http://www.dccc.org/news/Red_to_Blue/index.html|date=October 2, 2006}}</ref>

The scheme has found acceptance and implementation from the U.S. federal government as the [[Federal Election Commission]] report for the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]] uses the red-Republican and blue-Democratic scheme for its electoral map.<ref>[http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2004/presmaps.pdf Federal Elections 2004<!-- Bot generated title -->] from the [[Federal Election Commission]]</ref>
===International===
The choice of colors in this divide may appear counter-intuitive to non-American observers, as in most countries, red is associated with [[socialism|socialist]], [[communism|communist]], or [[social democracy|social democratic]] parties, while blue is associated with [[conservatism|conservative]] (especially [[liberal conservatism|liberal conservative]]) parties. For example, the major center-right conservative parties in the [[Politics of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], [[Politics of Canada|Canada]], [[Politics of Australia|Australia]], [[Politics of New Zealand|New Zealand]], [[Politics of Brazil|Brazil]], [[Politics of Italy|Italy]], [[Politics of Spain|Spain]], [[Politics of France|France]] and [[Politics of Bavaria|Bavaria]], all use blue or its shades (whether officially or unofficially) whereas the major socialist, communist, or social democratic parties in each country are associated with red (orange in Canada). If the U.S. followed such a pattern, blue would be used for the Republicans and red for the Democrats. However, the current U.S. scheme has become so ingrained in the American election system that foreign sources who cover U.S. elections, such as the [[BBC]], ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' and ''[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]'' follow with the red-Republican, blue-Democratic scheme for U.S. elections.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/americas/04/vote_usa/map/html/default.stm|title=BBC News|work=bbc.co.uk|access-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/flash/0,5532,7245,00.html|title=Amerika wählt – Spiegel Online – Nachrichten}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2004/10/internacional/eeuu/resultados.html|website=elmundo.es |title=Elecciones EEUU 2004|access-date=September 9, 2016}}</ref>

==Usage elsewhere==
===Australia===
In Australia, the centre-right [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] uses the colour blue, while the centre-left [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] uses the colour red. The formal alliance between the two main centre-right political parties in Australia, the Liberal Party and [[National Party of Australia|National Party]]), known as the [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]], also uses blue (although the National Party itself uses dark green). While the terminology used in the United States is sometimes used in Australia, the terms "Liberal state" (or "Coalition state") and "Labor state" are generally used instead.

As the Coalition is dominant in regional and rural areas, states where over 40% of the population live outside the state capital typically have higher numbers of Coalition supporters.

However, state politics and federal politics are separate and many states vote for different parties in state and federal elections. While [[Queensland]] and [[Western Australia]] have Labor governments, federally both states have almost always voted for the Coalition, although the latter has shifted to Labor more recently on both a state and federal level. The [[Northern Territory]], which also has a Labor government, has also historically voted primarily for the Coalition. [[Tasmania]] has also been an important state for both parties over the past 50 years because, of the five Tasmanian seats in the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], there have been times where one party has won all five of them. As of the [[2022 Australian federal election]], the Liberals have two Tasmanian seats ([[Division of Bass|Bass]] and [[Division of Braddon|Braddon]]), as does Labor ([[Division of Franklin|Franklin]] and [[Division of Lyons|Lyons]]), the remaining seat ([[Division of Clark|Clark]]) being represented by [[independent politicians in Australia|independent]] [[Andrew Wilkie]]. Queensland and Tasmania were considered the two states that delivered [[Scott Morrison]]'s unpredicted win at the [[2019 Australian federal election|2019 federal election]] and both states are the only two where less than 50% of the population resides in the capital city ([[Brisbane]] and [[Hobart]], respectively), which is important due to the Coalition's dominance in regional Australia.

Of the 29 federal elections held since [[1949 Australian federal election|1949]], Labor has won the federal two-party-preferred vote in Queensland just three times: in [[1961 Australian federal election|1961]], [[1990 Australian federal election|1990]] and [[2007 Australian federal election|2007]] (when Queenslander [[Kevin Rudd]] was leader of the Labor Party); and in Western Australia just six times: in [[1969 Australian federal election|1969]], [[1983 Australian federal election|1983]], [[1984 Australian federal election|1984]], [[1987 Australian federal election|1987]], [[2001 Australian federal election|2001]] (when Western Australian [[Kim Beazley]] was Labor leader) and 2022. Conversely, in the [[Australian Capital Territory]], which is dominated by national capital [[Canberra]], Labor has won the two-party-preferred vote in every election except the [[1975 Australian federal election|1975 election]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.aec.gov.au/elections/federal_elections/tpp-results.htm | title=House of Representatives - Two party preferred results 1949 - present }}</ref>

In Australia, the leader of the party that forms government (wins a majority of seats in the House of Representatives) becomes [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]], who does not always win the primary vote or even the two-party-preferred vote (although the later scenario is rare for federal elections, last occurring in [[1998 Australian federal election|1998]]).

==See also==
{{Clear}}
{{portal|Politics}}
* [[Blue wall (U.S. politics)]]
* [[Wave elections in the United States]]
* [[Jesusland map]]
* [[Political culture of the United States]]
* [[Political ideologies in the United States]]
* [[Cook Partisan Voting Index]]
* [[Swing state]]
* [[Southernization]]
* [[Southern strategy]]
* [[Commons:United States presidential election maps|United States presidential election maps]] on [[Wikimedia Commons]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Notes===
{{reflist|group=note}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title= Living Blue in the Red States|last= Starkey|first=David |year=2007 |publisher= University of Nebraska Press|location= Lincoln, NE|isbn=978-0-8032-6008-5}}
* {{cite web |title=The Urban Archipelago: It's the Cities, Stupid|url=http://www.urbanarchipelago.com/|work=[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]]|access-date=November 3, 2010}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Red State-Blue State Divide}}
* [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_11/005157.php Choosing colors based on incumbent vs. challenger victory from November, 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604084933/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_11/005157.php |date=June 4, 2016 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070616094433/http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/webcasts/docs/honkytonkgap.pdf The Honky Tonk Gap: Country Music, Red State Identity, and the Election of 2004]
* McPherson, Tara. [http://southernspaces.org/2004/re-imagining-red-states-new-directions-southern-studies "Re-imagining the Red States: New Directions for Southern Studies."] ''Southern Spaces'', December 14, 2004.

{{United States presidential elections}}
{{Regions of the United States}}
{{United States topics}}

[[Category:2000 beginnings]]
[[Category:2000 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:2000 neologisms]]
[[Category:American political neologisms]]
[[Category:Electoral geography of the United States]]
[[Category:United States presidential elections terminology]]
[[Category:Interstate conflicts in the United States]]
[[Category:Color codes]]
[[Category:History of the Republican Party (United States)]]
[[Category:History of the Democratic Party (United States)]]
[[Category:Regional rivalries]]