Nick Wing
2010 Election Landscape: Most States Still Blue Despite GOP Gains
First Posted: 02- 1-10 04:15 PM | Updated: 02- 1-10 04:46 PM
A Gallup poll released Monday showed that there are still more blue states than red, but the findings also confirm that Democrats have lost some of their grip on traditional safe-havens -- a shift that the latest round of elections seemed to show.
On the state level, Democrats hold a clear advantage, with 24 states considered "solid Democratic," and 14 as "lean Democratic." On the GOP side, only four states qualify as "solid Republican," and only one as "lean Republican."
In 2008 the Democratic lead was more substantial, with 30 states in the "solid Democratic" category and six "lean Democratic."
The results show that 49 percent of Americans in 2009 identified as Democrats, or as Democrat-leaning Independents, down from 52 percent in 2008. Forty-one percent of Americans in 2009 identified as Republicans, or Republican-leaning Independents, up from 40 percent in 2008.
The most Democratically-inclined states are Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, Hawaii, New York, Illinois, Connecticut and Delaware. (The District of Colombia polled the highest with 66 percent of residents identifying as Democrats).
All these states have become less Democratic, except Maryland, which gained one percent. Hawaii had the biggest shift, losing seven percentage points between 2008 and 2009.
The most Republican states in order are Wyoming, Utah, Alaska, Idaho, Alabama, Montana, Nebraska, Mississippi, Texas, North Dakota and Kansas. Republicans hold double digit advantages in Wyoming, Utah, Alaska, and Idaho.
According to Gallup, the "results are based on aggregated data from Gallup Daily tracking in 2009, including interviews with more than 350,000 adults in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Gallup conducted at least 1,000 interviews in every state except Wyoming (878), North Dakota (968), Delaware (997), and the District of Columbia (632). Gallup interviewed more than 20,000 residents each in California, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania."
