Alternate US States

[Gass3268]

Capital: It would be just wrong to have it be anywhere else than in NYC. Probably the Statehouse should be located in Manhattan, considering its historical centrality.

I don't know where were they'd have enough room to build statehouse on the island, unless they took over City Hall.

[Gass3268]

Capital: It would be just wrong to have it be anywhere else than in NYC. Probably the Statehouse should be located in Manhattan, considering its historical centrality.

I don't know where were they'd have enough room to build statehouse on the island, unless they took over City Hall.

Let's say that in this scenario, the new State map would have been enacted somewhere in the late 1950s (so that it first comes into effect with the 1960 election). Would there have been room left in Manhattan at that time? Otherwise, I guess it could be in the Bronx.

I don't think there was a lot of space even then. You might be able to put one in Central Park or  put it where they wanted to have their 2012 Olympic Stadium (Jets would have taken over after the Olympics) which was going to be built over the rail lines coming into the city.

[Gass3268]

I really like this series, but I have to imagine that if Delaware was forced to pick what state they wanted to join, they'd pick Pennsylvania. They were essentially a part of Pennsylvania between  1682-1704 and culturally they are more connected. Sports loyalties almost automatically shift from the Orioles/Ravens to the Phillies/Eagles when you cross the state border. It wouldn't look as pretty, but it would make more sense culturally. 

[Gass3268]

I really like this series, but I have to imagine that if Delaware was forced to pick what state they wanted to join, they'd pick Pennsylvania. They were essentially a part of Pennsylvania between  1682-1704 and culturally they are more connected. Sports loyalties almost automatically shift from the Orioles/Ravens to the Phillies/Eagles when you cross the state border. It wouldn't look as pretty, but it would make more sense culturally.

Really? I had no idea. You're right that it may be a fairer solution for Delaware citizens, but there's the problem of population (new PA is still pretty big) and geography. I've always hated the shape of the DE/MD border.

Yeah the entire area is a mess and there are bunch of wiki articles on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-Mile_Circle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wedge_(border)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpeninsular_Line
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason-Dixon_line

Also kinda surprised you didn't give the entire Delmarva Peninsula to Maryland.

[Gass3268]

What are the populations of these new states (especially the ones you split)?

[Gass3268]

Awesome work as usual! I'd personally go with Lubbock or Fort Worth as the state capitol. Fort Worth would be cool as it would make the Metroplex like the Twin Cities. Otherwise Lubbock is larger than Abilene and has a major University (Texas Tech), while still being in a somewhat centralized position.

[Gass3268]

Ohio is going to be brutal for Democrats. Great work!

[Gass3268]

It would be interesting to see what happens here in the future if Columbus continues to grow at their currently pace (+4.51 for the city, +3.42% for the metro area). Obama actually saw a pretty good swing in the Columbus area in 2012. Then again its doubtful he would have campaigned there if the states were divided like this.

[Gass3268]

Capital: I'll let you guess this one.

Kenosha?



Aurora?



Gary?

[Gass3268]

Just a heads up that Mark Kirk lives in Highland Park in Lake County, which means he'd be in the Chicago state.

[Gass3268]

I think with this result you end up with four years of Nixon.

After looking at the 1968 county results and the partisan make up of the House, I think Nixon (with Wallace's blessing) wins 28-23.



The Vice Presidential race would be much more interesting as I think Johnson and Humphrey would have a lot more pull in Senate and might be able to get Edmund Muskie through the Senate. Imagine how much fun 4 years of Nixon having a Democratic VP would be!

[Gass3268]

That seems pretty realistic, yeah. Conservative Democrats from Wallace districts would certainly have a hard time going for Humphrey.

I think Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee could be close calls and they would probably determine the election. Wallace had little strength in Oklahoma, so I think Humphrey gets that state. Also I could see Humphrey would get the support of Congressmen in the Upper South Union-frendily states of Kentucky and Missouri. Also Colorado had a huge Democratic Congressional delegation and I don't see the Wallace politics coming into play. Also Nixon is lucky that Republicans had congressional majorities in Michigan and Minnesota in '68.     

[Gass3268]

Interested to see what Obama loses in 2012. I have to imagine Illinois and California will flip to Romney.

Also thinking back on how you made your new states, kinda surprised you didn't create a Washington DC/Capital Region state. It could have consisted of DC, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Charles County, Loudon County, Prince William County, Fairfax County, Arlington County, City of Alexandria, City of Fairfax, City of Manassas, and City of Manassas Junction I know it would have been a massive Democratic vote sink, but it would probably make sense from a COI mindset.

[Gass3268]

2016 Senate Predictions



In their luckiest scenario, Democrats could potentially take as many as 9 seats to the GOP (although some of them will almost certainly fall back into the safe column as the campaign draws near). On a particularly good day, Republicans could keep all their 2010 gains and add Colorado and Nevada. The most likely outcome however should be D+1 or D+2.

Do you have a current list of Senators? Also how does the Iran Deal whip count look like?

[Gass3268]

I really don't see a Republican winning in Erie, the fundamentals change in that state without Kasich and a better Republic. Also I made this:

Adirondack (AD) – Kristen Gillibrand (Democrat – Brunswick – 2)
Adirondack (AD) – Tom Reed (Republican – Corning – 3)
Alabama (AL) – Richard Shelby (Republican – Tuscaloosa – 3)
Alabama (AL) – Jeff Sessions (Republican – Mobile – 2)
Alaska (AK) – Lisa Murkowski (Republican – Anchorage – 3)
Alaska (AK) – Dan Sullivan (Republican – Anchorage – 2)
Allegheny (AY) – Rick Santorum (Republican – Penn Hills – 1)
Allegheny (AY) – Keith Rothfus (Republican – Sewickley – 2)
Arizona (AZ) – John McCain (Republican – Phoenix – 1)
Arizona (AZ) – Jeff Flake (Republican – Mesa – 3)
Arkansas (AR) – John Boozman (Republican – Rogers – 3)
Arkansas (AR) – Tom Cotton (Republican – Dardanelle – 2)
California (CA) – Bill Jones (Republican – Fresno – 1)
California (CA) – Kevin McCarthy (Republican – Bakersfield – 3)
California del Sur (CS) – Loretta Sanchez (Democrat – Lakewood – 3)
California del Sur (CS) – Antonio Villaraigosa (Democrat – Los Angeles – 2)
Chicago (CH) – Lisa Madigan (Democrat – Chicago – 2)
Chicago (CH) – Bobby Rush (Democrat – Chicago – 1)
Colorado (CO) – Michael Bennet (Democrat – Denver – 3)
Colorado (CO) – Cory Gardner (Republican – Yuma – 2)
Connecticut (CT) – Richard Blumenthal (Democrat – Greenwich – 3)
Connecticut (CT) – Chris Murphy (Democrat – Cheshire – 1)
Eire (ER) – Sherrod Brown (Democrat – Cleveland – 3)
Eire (ER) – Tim Ryan (Democrat – Howland – 2)
Georgia (GA) – Johnny Isakson (Republican – Marietta – 3)
Georgia (GA) – David Perdue (Republican – Atlanta – 2)
Hawaii (HI) – Brain Schatz (Democrat – Honolulu – 3)
Hawaii (HI) – Mazie Hirono (Democrat – Honolulu – 1)
Illinois (IL) – Mark Kirk (Republican – Springfield – 3)
Illinois (IL) – Adam Kinzinger (Republican – Channahon – 2)
Indiana (IN) – Dan Coats (Republican – Fort Wayne – 3)
Indiana (IN) – Joe Donnelly (Democrat – Granger – 1)
Iowa (IA) – Chuck Grassley (Republican – New Hartford – 3)
Iowa (IA) – Join Ernst (Republican – Des Moines – 2)
Jefferson (JF) – Kay Granger (Republican – Fort Worth – 1)
Jefferson (JF) – Greg Abbott (Republican – Duncanville – 3)
Kansas (KS) – Pat Roberts (Republican – Dodge City – 2)
Kansas (KS) – Jerry Moran (Republican – Hayes – 3)
Kentucky (KY) – Mitch McConnell (Republican – Louisville – 2)
Kentucky (KY) – Rand Paul (Republican – Bowling Green – 3)
Lincoln (LN) – John Thune (Republican – Sioux Falls – 2)
Lincoln (LN) – Jon Tester (Democrat – Big Sandy – 1)
Louisiana (LA) – David Vitter (Republican – Metairie – 3)
Louisiana (LA) – Bill Cassidy (Republican – Baton Rouge – 2)
Maryland (MD) – Barbara Mikulski (Democrat – Baltimore – 3)
Maryland (MD) – Tom Carper (Democrat – Wilmington – 1)
Massachusetts (MA) – Elizabeth Warren (Democrat – Cambridge – 1)
Massachusetts (MA) – Ed Markey (Democrat – Maiden – 2)
Michigan (MI) – Debbie Stabenow (Democrat – Lansing – 1)
Michigan (MI) – Gary Peters (Democrat – Bloomfield Township – 2)
Minnesota (MN) – Amy Klobuchar (Democrat – St. Paul – 1)
Minnesota (MN) – Al Franken (Democrat – Minneapolis – 2)
Mississippi (MS) – Thad Cochran (Republican – Jackson – 2)
Mississippi (MS) – Roger Wicker (Republican – Tupelo – 1)
Missouri (MO) – Claire McCaskill (Democrat – St. Louis – 1)
Missouri (MO) – Roy Blunt (Republican – Strafford – 3)
Nebraska (NB) – Deb Fischer (Republican – Valentine – 1)
Nebraska (NB) – Ben Sasse (Republican – Fremont – 2)
Nevada (NV) – Harry Reid (Democrat – Searchlight – 3)
Nevada (NV) – Dean Heller (Republican – Carson City – 1)
New England (NE) – Patrick Leahy (Democrat – Middlesex – 1)
New England (NE) – Susan Collins (Republican – Bangor – 2)
New Jersey (NJ) – Bob Menendez (Democrat – North Bergen – 1)
New Jersey (NJ) – Corey Booker (Democrat – Newark – 2)
New Mexico (NM) – Tom Udall (Democrat – Santa Fe – 2)
New Mexico (NM) – Mark Heinrich (Democrat – Albuquerque – 1)
New York (NY) – Chuck Schumer (Democrat – Brooklyn – 3)
New York (NY) – Charlie Rangel (Democrat – New York City – 1)
North Carolina (NC) – Richard Burr (Republican – Winston-Salem – 3)
North Carolina (NC) – Thom Tillis (Republican – Cornelius – 2)
North Florida (NF) – Bill Nelson (Democrat – Tallahassee – 1)
North Florida (NF) – Jeff Miller (Republican – Milton – 3)
Ohio (OH) – Rob Portman (Republican – Cincinnati – 3)
Ohio (OH) – Mike DeWine (Republican – Springfield – 1)
Oregon (OR) – Jim Risch (Republican – Boise – 2)
Oregon (OR) – Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Republican – Deer Park – 3)
Oklahoma (OK) – Jim Inhofe (Republican – Tulsa – 2)
Oklahoma (OK) – James Lankford (Republican – Oklahoma City – 3)
Pacific (PA) – Barbara Boxer (Democrat – Greenbrae – 2)
Pacific (PA) – Kamala Harris (Democrat – San Francisco – 1)
Pennsylvania (PA) – Allyson Schwartz (Democrat – Jenkintown – 1)
Pennsylvania (PA) – Joe Sestak (Democrat – Edgmont Township – 3)
Rio Grande (RG) – John Cornyn (Republican – Austin – 3)
Rio Grande (RG) – Julian Castro (Democrat – San Antonio – 1)
South Carolina (SC) – Lindsey Graham (Republican – Seneca – 2)
South Carolina (SC) – Tim Scott (Republican – Charleston – 3)
South Florida (FL) – Charlie Crist (Independent/Republican – St. Petersburg – 1   
South Florida (FL) – Debbie Wasserman Shultz (Democrat – Weston – 2)
Tennessee (TN) – Lamar Alexander (Republican – Nashville – 2)
Tennessee (TN) – Bob Corker (Republican – Chattanooga – 1)
Texas (TX) – Ted Cruz (Republican – Houston – 1)
Texas (TX) – David Dewhurst (Republican – Houston – 2)
Utah (UT) – Orrin Hatch (Republican – Salt Lake City – 1)
Utah (UT) – Mike Lee (Republican – Alpine – 3)
Virginia (VA) – Mark Warner (Democrat – Alexandria – 2)
Virginia (VA) – Tim Kaine (Democrat – Richmond – 1)
Washington (WA) – Patty Murray (Democrat – Seattle – 3)
Washington (WA) – Ron Wyden (Democrat – Portland – 1)
West Virginia (WV) – Joe Manchin (Democrat – Charleston – 1)
West Virginia (WV) – Shelly Moore Capito (Republican – Charleston – 2)
Wisconsin (WI) – Ron Johnson (Republican – Oshkosh – 3)
Wisconsin (WI) – Tammy Baldwin (Democrat – Madison – 1)