The term red states or blue states describes those U.S. states having residents who predominantly tend to vote for the Republican Party or Democratic Party, respectively, in presidential elections, the only national elections held in the United States.
The origin of the term is from television newscasts which reveal, or project, on presidential election night which party's candidate has carried which states in the U.S. Electoral College. Usually a map of the country with the states projected to choose one party or another are colored either red or blue. States too close to call ("swing states") are often colored white or purple. The colors were selected because they appear on the United States flag. This leads to some humor—red being the traditional color world-wide for socialist groups. Traditionally, the hues for the colors were selected with contrasting saturation, as a visual aid to the color blind and those with black and white televisions.
The color assignments alternated every four years between the incumbent party and the challenger. Since 1976, the color assignment has been:
| Year | Incumbent Party | Incumbent Color |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Republican | Blue |
| 1980 | Democratic | Red |
| 1984 | Republican | Blue |
| 1988 | Republican | Red |
| 1992 | Republican | Blue |
| 1996 | Democratic | Red |
| 2000 | Democratic | Blue |
| 2004 | Republican | Red |
In the hotly-contested election of 2000 it was the Republicans' turn for red and the Democrats' turn for blue, and in the subsequent 2004 election the assignment was the same since the incumbancy had reversed. Since the resulting map revealed that support for each party followed a sharply defined geographical pattern, it has since become customary to refer to the Republican-leaning states as red states and the Democratic strongholds as blue states.
The red states tend to fall in The South, parts of the Great Plains and the "Lower Midwest" (the Midwest excluding the Upper Midwest), and rural Western regions of the country, with the Northeast and Pacific Coast featuring the largest metropolitan areas being blue states.
Solid red states are Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming, which have not voted for a Democrat presidential candidate since 1964. Other strong red states include Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina and Texas, which have not voted Democrat since 1976.
Red states have several demographic differences from blue states; thus the term now has cultural implications as well, implying a conservative region or a more conservative type of American. This view of an "America somewhat divided" into two cultural zones has been most prominently advanced by conservative writer David Brooks. The most typical is that the majority of red states tend to feature more rural area, with agriculture being one of the most important industries. Red states also tend to be poorer and have fewer college graduates, but send far more members to join the U.S. military. Red states tend to be more actively religious and more overwhelmingly Christian. Recently others have challenged Brooks' views, charging that they are exaggerated.
The blue states tend to be in the Northeast, Upper Midwest and Pacific Coast, with the Great Plains, South and the remainder of the Midwest being red states.
The solid "blue states" would generally be California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois,Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, Maine and Michigan. The distinction between the two is far from clear-cut, however. Minorities in all states tend to vote Democratic. Many states are divided, such as Florida, which is quite liberal in the cities, but rather conservative in rural areas such as the Panhandle.
Blue states have several demographic differences from red states, thus the term now has cultural implications as well, implying a liberal region or a more liberal type of American. The most typical is that the majority of blue states tend to be more urban, have higher per capita government expenditures, and are more multicultural.
The distinction between the two groups of states is far from clear cut, however. Members of minority racial groups in all states tend to vote Democratic. Many states are divided, such as Pennsylvania which is quite conservative in the interior, but liberal around the urban centers of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
It should be noted that not all media outlets follow this standard. According to Federal Review's web site, there has been a trend towards the use of blue for the incumbent and red for the challenger.