Will West Virginia ever vote to the right of Idaho?

[DS0816]

If yes, when do you think it could happen?

Would there be any ideological shift in the most-populous areas of Idaho for this potential?

It would be fun to see a winning Democrat carry Idaho. But, that hasn't happened since 1964 and, before that, 1948. The state used to routinely carry for presidential winners during the first half of the 20th century. (As did a hell of a lot of states.)

The nature of the general-election campaigning, not just from Democrats but also Republicans, would have to change in order to possibly move states nowadays considered remote.

[DS0816]

In the period of 2000-2016 (HEAVILY influenced by Bush's Presidency), it has been true that "cosmopolitan areas" have trended Democratic and rural areas have trended Republican.  There's no reason to think that will continue forever.

So long as there is a common association of one of the two major political parties being "conservative" and the other being "liberal" … there is no reason to share your enthusiasm, RINO Tom.