at one point did each state become what it is currently from a political

[freepcrusher]

perspective? Here are my opinions

Alabama: 2010. The last thing that the democrats had, the legislature, fell. For them however it was a much more gradual process. Goldwater won the state in 1964 but it returned to the democrats in 1976. In 1980, Carter still did relatively well there despite losing. However, they elected a republican senator for the first time in over 100 years. The seat was recovered in 86 and they still had a 5-2 Democrat Delegation by 1990. However, beginning around 1992-1996, the state’s shift towards the republicans rapidly accelerated. In 1992, a black majority district was drawn that made the 7th ultrasafe democrat but caused democrat Ben Edreich to lose re-election in the 6th district. The republicans took the governorship and have held it since and Dick Shelby jumped ship. The other senator, Howell Heflin, retired and the seat went republican. In 1996, two seats that elected a democrat in the 1994 wave election, went republican (the 3rd and 4th).

Alaska 1976-1980 period; Alaska was a swing maybe slight R state before then. McGovern did pretty good compared to his national average. Then Carter lost the state by 17 points and four years later left wing hero Mike Gravel was unseated

Arizona 1950s. The state especially in the Greater Phoenix Area rapidly grew with a lot of reactionary Midwesterners moving there. The state in the bad 1946 democratic year elected Ernest McFarland with 69% of the vote. In 1952 he was unseated by a small margin. In the repubocalypse of 1958, Goldwater won in a rematch by 12 points (the seat was later recovered in the 1970s) and the governorship was taken over by Paul Fannin. John Rhodes also retained his seat. In 1960, they voted for the losing republican presidential candidate for the first time ever.

Arkansas 1990s. The state gave Reagan above his national average in 84 and Bush won with above his national average in 1988. Bill Clinton only briefly interrupted the swing to the republicans. In 1992, the southern district (the 4th) went to a republican even while Clinton won 58% in the district (ironically the district went democrat in 2000 just as it started to shift away). They also picked up a senate seat in 1996 and the governorship in 1998. Clinton also failed to improve upon his 92 margin.

California 2000. It was one of the few states where Gore did better than Clinton in 1996. The democrats also picked up the 49th district (uptown San Diego); the 36th district (Palos Verdes Area); and the 15th district in silicon valley which was vacated by Tom Campbell to run for the senate. Had Pete Wilson stayed in the senate, he probably also would have been unseated in 2000.

Colorado 2004. The democrats captured the legislature, the western district (the 3rd) and a senate seat. Bush however did win the state, but at a smaller margin than in 2000

[freepcrusher]

Connecticut late 50s/early 60s. This illustrates how the WASPS began deserting the republican party. They picked up a senate seat in 1958 and the other one in 1962. Kennedy won the state and Johnson won by a 68-32 margin. In 1968, Connecticut voted for a losing democratic candidate for the first time ever giving HHH nearly 50% of the vote. In the 70s and 80s Connecticut briefly returned to the republicans electing Lowell Weicker in 1970 (albeit a liberal republican) and the state gave Ford 52% in 1976 and Reagan did a point or two above his national average. However, once the democrats started running legit candidates, the state flipped back to the democrats in 1992 for good.

Delaware. 1856. Since the formation of the two party system, it has always been the same. The northern part is heavily urban and heavily democrat and can outvote the rest of the state. The middle part of the state is a mix between urban and rural. The southern part is rural and similar to the eastern shore of Maryland. It is a mix between conservative democrats and conservative republicans.

Florida 1950s. It was a heavily democratic state until the 50s when many wealthy retirees and other republican northerners moved there. Since then it has essentially been a “so goes the nation” state. However, the composition within the state has changed as the northern and western part has swung to the republicans while the southern and eastern parts of the state have swung heavily democrat.

Georgia 2002-2004. During the 90s a lot of wildcat subdivisions started popping up in Cobb, Cherokee, North Fulton, Forsyth, and Gwinnett counties and attracted a lot of blue state republicans. Unlike rural Georgia which is essentially R national, D local; these exurban areas pretty much voted straight R. When the legislature was redrawn in 2002; it gave these areas more clout and by 2004, they had picked up both the legislature, both senate seats, and the governorship.

Hawaii 1959. The state has always been a fairly to solidly democrat state though they did have a republican senator, Hiram Fong, in the 1960s.

Idaho 1980. The state had been republican since the Eisenhower era in presidential elections, but the last statewide democrat, Frank Church was unseated. He probably would have won in an 86 rematch had he not died. Also, a lot of orange county freeper types moved there and in general became a hotbed of a lot of RW cults, militias, and fringe mormon types.

Illinois 1990s. Basically until then, areas like Lake, DuPage, or McHenry counties would bail the republicans out and help them win the state. When they stopped giving Republicans 60+% of the vote, it pretty much became a heavily democratic state (Kirk and Fitzgerald notwithstanding)

Indiana 1856. Again the state has always been a somewhat republican state with brief democrat “comas” such as in 1958, 1974, and 2006.

[freepcrusher]

Iowa 1990s. Iowa for the most part was a heavily republican state until around 1962/1964 and from then until the 90s, it went through a very schizophrenic political era in which they voted very unpredictably. It wasn’t until the 90s when it became a lean/slight D state.

Kansas 1938/1940. Before then it often elected republicans but also was very much a maverick state in the sense that they were interested into third party movements like the free soilers in the 1850s, the populists in the 1890s, and the progressives/socialists in the early 20th century. In 1938, the democrat senator was unseated and they haven’t elected a dem senator since. Also in 1940 they pretty much established themselves as an R+10 state.

Kentucky 1960. From this point on, they would not elect a democrat unless it was a dixiecrat.

Louisiana 2000. From this point on, Louisiana swung heavily R and they elected a republican senator for the first time since reconstruction in 2004.

Maine Late 50s/Early 60s. See Connecticut. In what was previously a hardcore republican state, one of their senators was unseated by 18 points by Ed Muskie in 1958.

Maryland 1950s. In the postwar era Maryland’s politics have been largely unchanged. You had the eastern shore which was the most redneck/southern part of the state and would elect Ds locally but Rs nationally. Baltimore had a political machine which was dominated by the liberal blacks (think Kweisi Mfume) and forced a lot of the Archie Bunker types to move into outer Baltimore County. Then you have the limousine liberal network in the Beltway like in Prince George’s or Montgomery County where both parties are liberal (remember Connie Morella represented MontCo in the 90s). Then you have the northwest part of the state, which isn’t that different from the Pennsylvania Dutch and has been ancestrally republican/conservative.

Massachusetts 1960. Until then, Massachusetts was largely a swing state. You had the catholics who usually voted democrat, but it wasn’t often enough to overpower the republican WASPs. It wasn’t until 1960, when Massachusetts began voting heavily democrat. By 1968, the state was so democrat that it gave Hubert Humphrey 63% of the vote in a three way race.

Michigan 1930s. The state has always been democrat due to the heavily populated Detroit (and Flint) areas where labor is a huge industry. The Detroit area often was one of the more democratic metro areas in the country as Detroit had a huge population and there was a lot of blue collar democrats even in the suburbs such as Macomb county. There weren’t very many white collar republican areas like DuPage County. The closest thing to that in Michigan was probably Oakland County. Flint is also sort of a miniature Detroit. Also I remember hearing somewhere that blacks in Detroit started voting in blocks far sooner than the rest of the country The state became easier for the republicans to win in the 70s and 80s as a lot of blue collar dems deserted the party and it wasn’t until the 90s when the Reagan Dems returned to the party that the democrats have been able to return to dominance.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Keep it up!

[greenforest32]

Keep it up!

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Keep it up!

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Keep it up!

Although I do have to note that Gore didn't do better than Clinton 1996 in California.

[freepcrusher]

Minnesota 1930s. When the labor movement as well as the LaFollette voters were brought into the democratic fold in 1932, the state has remained democrat with a few exceptions here and there

Mississippi 1988. It was then that John Stennis, the last of the old bull dixiecrats, retired. He was replaced by Trent Lott and Mississippi currently has the longest period of time where a southern state has had two republican senators.

Missouri 2000. Until then the state had four regions:
Urban Areas (Kansas City and St Louis): both have been and still are heavily democrat areas

Rural Areas of Little Dixie (NE of St Louis) Central Missouri and Southeast Missouri: usually democrat or at least always voting for the winning democrat

Far Northern Areas: has a lot in common with southern Iowa. Was essentially a GOP area for most of the 20th century, then was unpredictable in voting patterns in the 70s, 80s, and 90s; especially with the farm crisis.

Southwest Missouri: a very isolationist area and very republican. Think East Tennessee.

Beginning in 2000, the rural river counties and the northern counties began voting similar to southwest missouri. So it put that much more importance on not only winning Jackson and St Louis counties, but getting at least sixty or seventy percent of the vote to win.

Montana
1952. This is when the state became a lean R state. Since then the only time they voted Republican was in 1964 when Barry Goldwater was seen as a nutcase and in 1992 when there was a three way race. However, they continue to elect democrat senators, including peacenik Mike Mansfield.

Nebraska
1996-1998. Nebraska has been a republican state in presidential elections for about seventy years, but in the 60s 70s 80s and into the 90s, they would often elect democrat governors. By 1980, they had captured both senate seats with one of the senators being a former governor himself. In 1994, they elected a democrat governor and a democrat senator in the same year in a bad political climate. It was thought that due to his popularity, Ben Nelson would win a senate race as Jim Exon was retiring in 1996. Nelson unexpectedly loses by 10 points to an unknown by the name of Chuck Hagel (who at least wasn't a hyperpartisan ass like Carl Curtis) . In 1998 Nelson retires as governor and the governorship went Republican and hasn't flipped back. In 2000, Bob Kerrey retired, and Ben Nelson won the seat. Nelson is the last holdover from the days when Nebraska elected democrat governors. Since the governorship is the launching pad for the senate, its unlikely there will be another dem senator for twenty years after Nelson retires.

Nevada 1990s
Basically the urbanization of the state in Las Vegas made it a competitive state.

New Hampshire 1990s
In a state that Bush won 62% in 1988, the state swung hard dem voting for Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Since then it has been a swing state. If the GOP trying to coddle the fundies had any adverse effects, this is exhibit A

New Jersey 2000
This was the first time New Jersey voted for a losing democrat candidate in recent memory

New Mexico 2008
The democrats swept the three US House Seats and had two dem senators for the first time since 1971-1972. Obama's 57% was the highest a democrat has received since LBJ in 1964.