I could see the upper south being more D than New England in 20 years

[Smash255]

The GOP could conceivably take Connecticut, with the right candidate. That state strikes me as somewhere that would easily go Conservative in UK elections - it kind of reminds me of the Home counties that surround London.

LOL no.  Mitt Romney was probably the best candidate possible for the GOP in a state like Connecticut and he lost by 17....

[All Along The Watchtower]

The GOP could conceivably take Connecticut, with the right candidate. That state strikes me as somewhere that would easily go Conservative in UK elections - it kind of reminds me of the Home counties that surround London.

LOL no.  Mitt Romney was probably the best candidate possible for the GOP in a state like Connecticut and he lost by 17....

Srsly. Most of Connecticut is not the Gold Coast.

[Rockefeller GOP]

I can't see any lower Northeast states flipping anytime soon, but if the GOP (in 30 years) is no longer seen as the CLEARLY more anti-gay/culturally reactionary party (at least its base), then there's no reason upper New England wouldn't return to the fold, and they might even dominate New Hampshire.

Remember these states used to be the most reliable Republican states, and from my experience, their shift away from the GOP is almost entirely fueled by a desire to not be in a "Southern party."  Most people up here, when quizzed on fiscal issues or gun rights, would align more with the GOP.  But a party with people like Todd Aiken is simply not compatible with the culture up here (unless you're a loyal, old school holdout like me who refuses to let cultural conservatives drive me out of my party).

Most former Republicans up here didn't switch to Democrats, they became independents.

[Skill and Chance]

This might be moving too fast, but I think it's a very plausible realignment:

[MATTROSE94]

This might be moving too fast, but I think it's a very plausible realignment:

That looks possible, though I think that Vermont will remain solidly Democratic for the foreseeable future and feel that Arkansas, West Virginia and Oklahoma will trend even more Republican, especially if the Democrats move further to the left on social and economic issues.

[Skill and Chance]

This might be moving too fast, but I think it's a very plausible realignment:

That looks possible, though I think that Vermont will remain solidly Democratic for the foreseeable future and feel that Arkansas, West Virginia and Oklahoma will trend even more Republican, especially if the Democrats move further to the left on social and economic issues.

I went back and edited some of the Republican states to indicate which would be the strongest.  Basically, my thesis is that both poor Republicans and wealthy Democrats start to swing toward the center as non-abortion social issues lose influence and the parties align on economic issues.  Add that on to natural demographic change in the South/West, and increasing oil and gas influence pulling some states more solidly to the right and you get this map.  Texas never gets competitive because of oil and urban yuppies starting to vote their pocketbooks. 

[Tieteobserver]

MD is already a very democratic state, perhaps at the same level as MA, VT and RI.

VA could possibly go this way. NC is a different story I guess. The democrats are still making inroads there, and its still a very southern state.

As for New England, I see NH and ME going Republican again. These states were very solidly Republican until not so long ago. Vermont also was, but today it became very liberal.

CT is not a bad place for the GOP too. It was Republican until the 1990s, and seems to have some very reliably Republican pockets left.

[Rockefeller GOP]

I'm flat out telling you that Maine would at least be a battleground state in 20 years if the GOP drops gay marriage, moderates on immigration and starts marketing itself as a pro-business party rather than an evangelical safe haven.

[Tieteobserver]

Unfortunately, the only way I see New England becoming Republican again is by a total change of paradigm. The South would have to become blue again, and the Democrats would have to become the party of the Evangelicals. They would have to somehow adopt a populist discourse in economics, whilst at the same time alienating their coastal supporters. The GOP, in this scenario, would have a very easy time catering to them, with a Libertarian (Classical Liberal) message. Its not the discourse that plays, though. Its the rivalry too. Poor evangelical Southerners would hardly want to vote for the very same party of the Northern elites. Northern rich yuppies, at the same time, don't really want to be mistaken for Southern yokels.

I don't really see this happening though. The GOP has too good of an electorate to get rid of, same for the Dems. If the latter appeal to minorities and to the youth in a country thats increasingly less white and more liberal, the former control have a strong chance of growth within Latinos, besides being in control of the fastest growing areas in the country.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Unfortunately, the only way I see New England becoming Republican again is by a total change of paradigm. The South would have to become blue again, and the Democrats would have to become the party of the Evangelicals. They would have to somehow adopt a populist discourse in economics, whilst at the same time alienating their coastal supporters. The GOP, in this scenario, would have a very easy time catering to them, with a Libertarian (Classical Liberal) message. Its not the discourse that plays, though. Its the rivalry too. Poor evangelical Southerners would hardly want to vote for the very same party of the Northern elites. Northern rich yuppies, at the same time, don't really want to be mistaken for Southern yokels.

I don't really see this happening though. The GOP has too good of an electorate to get rid of, same for the Dems. If the latter appeal to minorities and to the youth in a country thats increasingly less white and more liberal, the former control have a strong chance of growth within Latinos, besides being in control of the fastest growing areas in the country.

Democrats already have a populist economic discourse and have had one for like 200 years.

[Sol]

New England as a whole is a left-wing area on almost every issue. The only way the region votes for the GOP is if they become left of center. Of course, a reformed GOP could enjoy some success in certain areas (NYC 'burbs in CT, certain areas of metro Boston) but they'd probably still lose, and the only swing state would still be NH. People seem to forget New England's traditional industrial, working-class base, as well as its diversifying urban centers.

[Mr. Illini]

This is the most I can really seen the map re-aligning anytime soon. The map a few posts above is highly unlikely, IMO. Especially IL and OR.

The map is akin to if social and immigration issues become less important (marriage and 'amnesty' are passed).