I confess I am a numbers geek. I was also curious to see what each state’s new partisan trends were, so I made this table. Here are a few explanations of my table.
2004 Trend: This is the average of the differences between the state’s margin and the national average in 1996, 2000, and 2004. If the trend is steady, the S is attached to the party of which the state is trending towards.
2008 Trend: Same as the 2004 Trend, only the difference between the state’s margin and the national average this year is factored into the average.
Average: Here is the 2008 trend in numbers. If the trend is less than 1%, then it is classified as “steady”.
Rank: Here I have the states ranked according to their trends. States with a 2008 trend towards the Democrats are the Xth-fastest Democratic-trending states; those with a 2008 trend towards the Republicans are the Xth-fastest Republican-trending states.
And one more thing: I know factors such as Bush, Clinton, and Perot have had an effect on states such as Arkansas, Texas, and some western states. And I know the rapid exurban growth in states like Minnesota (which gave the state a slight Republican trend, though the growth has slowed thanks to the housing collapse) were probably a factor also. I’d have to do further analysis to determine those states’ true trends without the Bush, Clinton, Perot, etc. factors.
Numbers are over the flip. Enjoy!
State |
State Rank |
Margin vs. National |
2004 Trend |
2008 Trend |
Average |
Rank |
Alabama |
6th most Republican |
28.24% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
3.83% to the GOP |
9th-fastest to the GOP |
Alaska |
5th most Republican |
31.74% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
4.11% to the GOP |
8th-fastest to the GOP |
Arizona |
17th most Republican |
15.35% more GOP |
Steady/GOP |
GOP |
1.77% to the GOP |
15th-fastest to the GOP |
Arkansas |
7th most Republican |
26.17% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
9.47% to the GOP |
1st-fastest to the GOP |
California |
9th most Democratic |
16.78% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.48% to the DEMs |
7th-fastest to the DEMs |
Colorado |
23rd most Democratic |
2.03% more DEM |
Steady/GOP |
Steady/DEM |
0.51% to the DEMs |
26th-fastest to the DEMs |
Connecticut |
10th most Democratic |
15.97% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
3.42% to the DEMs |
4th-fastest to the DEMs |
Delaware |
7th most Democratic |
18.37% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
4.08% to the DEMs |
3rd-fastest to the DEMs |
District of Columbia |
0th most Democratic |
79.33% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.48% to the DEMs |
8th-fastest to the DEMs |
Florida |
26th most Democratic |
3.82% less DEM |
DEM |
Steady/DEM |
0.98% to the DEMs |
22nd-fastest to the DEMs |
Georgia |
20th most Republican |
11.84% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
1.65% to the GOP |
16th-fastest to the GOP |
Hawaii |
1st most Democratic |
38.65% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
8.35% to the DEMs |
1st-fastest to the DEMs |
Idaho |
4th most Republican |
32.10% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
3.10% to the GOP |
11th-fastest to the GOP |
Illinois |
8th most Democratic |
18.29% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.49% to the DEMs |
6th-fastest to the DEMs |
Indiana |
27th most Democratic |
5.67% less DEM |
GOP |
DEM |
1.65% to the DEMs |
19th-fastest to the DEMs |
Iowa |
22nd most Democratic |
2.65% more DEM |
Steady/DEM |
Steady/DEM |
0.70% to the DEMs |
24th-fastest to the DEMs |
Kansas |
11th most Republican |
22.01% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
2.68% to the GOP |
13th-fastest to the GOP |
Kentucky |
9th most Republican |
22.85% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
4.98% to the GOP |
6th-fastest to the GOP |
Louisiana |
8th most Republican |
25.32% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
5.95% to the GOP |
3rd-fastest to the GOP |
Maine |
11th most Democratic |
10.91% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.18% to the DEMs |
15th-fastest to the DEMs |
Maryland |
6th most Democratic |
18.42% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.35% to the DEMs |
11th-fastest to the DEMs |
Massachusetts |
4th most Democratic |
19.08% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
1.68% to the DEMs |
18th-fastest to the DEMs |
Michigan |
13th most Democratic |
9.84% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
1.77% to the DEMs |
17th-fastest to the DEMs |
Minnesota |
20th most Democratic |
3.62% more DEM |
Steady/GOP |
Steady/GOP |
0.47% to the GOP |
20th-fastest to the GOP |
Mississippi |
13th most Republican |
20.36% more GOP |
Steady/GOP |
GOP |
1.32% to the GOP |
19th-fastest to the GOP |
Missouri |
22nd most Republican |
6.79% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
2.71% to the GOP |
12th-fastest to the GOP |
Montana |
21st most Republican |
9.11% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
1.61% to the GOP |
17th-fastest to the GOP |
Nebraska |
10th most Republican |
22.11% more GOP |
GOP |
Steady/DEM |
0.17% to the DEMs |
29th-fastest to the DEMs |
Nevada |
18th most Democratic |
5.80% more DEM |
Steady/DEM |
DEM |
2.35% to the DEMs |
10th-fastest to the DEMs |
New Hampshire |
21st most Democratic |
2.99% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.18% to the DEMs |
14th-fastest to the DEMs |
New Jersey |
16th most Democratic |
7.80% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.90% to the DEMs |
5th-fastest to the DEMs |
New Mexico |
15th most Democratic |
8.24% more DEM |
Steady/GOP |
DEM |
1.39% to the DEMs |
20th-fastest to the DEMs |
New York |
5th most Democratic |
18.84% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.28% to the DEMs |
12th-fastest to the DEMs |
North Carolina |
28th most Democratic |
6.30% less DEM |
GOP |
Steady/DEM |
0.15% to the DEMs |
30th-fastest to the DEMs |
North Dakota |
18th most Republican |
15.30% more GOP |
GOP |
Steady/DEM |
0.72% to the DEMs |
23rd-fastest to the DEMs |
Ohio |
25th most Democratic |
2.83% less DEM |
DEM |
Steady/DEM |
0.38% to the DEMs |
27th-fastest to the DEMs |
Oklahoma |
2nd most Republican |
37.91% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
5.79% to the GOP |
4th-fastest to the GOP |
Oregon |
14th most Democratic |
9.54% more DEM |
Steady/DEM |
Steady/DEM |
0.64% to the DEMs |
25th-fastest to the DEMs |
Pennsylvania |
19th most Democratic |
3.63% more DEM |
Steady/DEM |
Steady/DEM |
0.19% to the DEMs |
28th-fastest to the DEMs |
Rhode Island |
3rd most Democratic |
21.29% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.45% to the DEMs |
9th-fastest to the DEMs |
South Carolina |
16th most Republican |
15.60% more GOP |
Steady/GOP |
Steady/GOP |
0.46% to the GOP |
21st-fastest to the GOP |
South Dakota |
19th most Republican |
15.03% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
1.34% to the GOP |
18th-fastest to the GOP |
Tennessee |
12th most Republican |
21.79% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
5.07% to the GOP |
5th-fastest to the GOP |
Texas |
15th most Republican |
18.37% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
2.18% to the GOP |
14th-fastest to the GOP |
Utah |
3rd most Republican |
35.34% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
3.30% to the GOP |
10th-fastest to the GOP |
Vermont |
2nd most Democratic |
29.03% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
4.87% to the DEMs |
2nd-fastest to the DEMs |
Virginia |
24th most Democratic |
0.47% less DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.09% to the DEMs |
16th-fastest to the DEMs |
Washington |
12th most Democratic |
10.26% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
1.16% to the DEMs |
21st-fastest to the DEMs |
West Virginia |
14th most Republican |
19.72% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
6.65% to the GOP |
2nd-fastest to the GOP |
Wisconsin |
17th most Democratic |
7.28% more DEM |
DEM |
DEM |
2.27% to the DEMs |
13th-fastest to the DEMs |
Wyoming |
1st most Republican |
38.86% more GOP |
GOP |
GOP |
4.28% to the GOP |
7th-fastest to the GOP |
and most of them don’t give a truly accurate picture. You have look a little further below the surface for that.