The Red State Myth
Compiled by
David Pakman
Since the election, the maps of the election results, both by state and
by county, have been all over the media, whether it's on television, in
newspapers and
magazines, or on the internet. What stands out about
these maps is how much red there is, and depending who is discussing the
maps, sometimes it is said insinuating the "overwhelming" red state
victory. While some have indicated the fact that on the whole, the blue
counties are much more highly populated, here's another way to look at
it. Here is the normal map that we've been seeing:
Clearly there is a lot of red, more than 30 states in fact, while there
are 19 blue states, plus Washington DC. What isn't clear from this map,
or the infamous county map, is
the amount of Democratic support in the red states, as well as the
amount of Republican support in the blue states. Here is another way to
look at it, which is much more accurate in representing the will of the
electorate in the US:
This map shows each state's division between Bush and Kerry voters. For
example, although Texas was won by George W. Bush and therefore a red
state, 40% of the votes went for John F. Kerry. The top color in each
state represents the winner. While not perfectly scientific, it much
more closely represents the division between the two parties in the US,
and clearly, there is a very evident division. The red states have
plenty of blue in them, and with the exception of Washington DC where
John F. Kerry received 90% of the vote, the blue states have a lot of
red in them as well.
Special thanks to
Pascal's Diary for providing both maps, available
here.
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