I'm sure most of you have read about the political regions of the United States in this article:
http://www.massinc.org/commonwealth/new_map_exclusive/sagebrush.htmlThis article lumped in New Hampshire (swing state) and Maine (Democratic state) with heavily Republican places like Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, western Texas, and the Nebraska panhandle.
New Hampshire and Maine have made a major Democratic swing over the last several election cycles. New Hampshire went from being Bush's 2nd strongest state (behind only Utah) in 1988 to voting for Clinton 4 years later. Maine was one of only two states that FDR never carried, so it was once even more heavily Republican than Utah.
So why has the Eastern Sagebrush region made such a big swing towards the Democrats while the Western Sagebrush region has not? I know that Western Sagebrush people love their guns and oppose gun control, but the same applies to Eastern sagebrush people as well.
What about social issues? I know that the Mormons make Utah and Idaho heavily right-wing. I know that New Hampshire and Maine are liberal on social issues. Does right wing ideology on social issues prevail in the rest of the Sagebrush region? Interestingly enough, the vote to legalize medical marijuana passed in Montana. I highly doubt that could happen in Mississippi, Alabama, or South Carolina.
Could the importance of the New Hampshire primary be a reason that Eastern Sagebrush votes so differently from Western Sagebrush? Every 4 years, New Hampshire voters hear Democratic talking points, and the tipping point must have been reached in 1992. Maine is the neighboring state, and the New Hampshire Primary buzz is heard by those voters as well. On the other hand, the Western Sagebrush region is ignored by both parties during the primary season because their primaries don't take place until the nomination has already been decided. So Western Sagebrush has voted Republican out of habit and tradition for most of the past century.
