1. One State, Two State Red State, Blue State

2. Red States and Blue States What are red states? What are blue states? What are purple states? Why do we even care about these labels?

3. The Electoral College The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for your Senators. Works on a “winner-take-all” concept – or first past the post.

4. The Electoral College

5. Red States Except in the most extreme cases, these states will always vote Republican in Presidential Elections. They may, however, vote Democratic in local elections.

6. Blue States Except in the most extreme cases, these states will always vote Democratic in Presidential Elections. They may, however, vote Republican in local elections.

7. Purple States These states could vote either way in Presidential and Local elections; neither party has a noticeable advantage over the other.

8. The Big Map Blue States: 231 Red States: 170 Purple States: 137

9. Why Does This Matter? Why should we care about a state’s leaning in national political races? Because a state’s leanings determine how much attention a state is given by the national parties. – Not just by Presidents: Parties only spend money in states they think they can win!

10. 2004 Election: Hands Waves = Visits Dollar Signs = Money spent on advertising.

11. Types of States Northeast – 79 EVs Midwest – 121 EVs Mid-Atlantic – 41 EVs Appalachia – 30 EVs Deep South – 48 EVs Florida – 29 Evs The Great Plains – 84 EVs Southwest – 31 EVs West Coast – 78 EVs

12. The Northeast – 79 Electoral Votes Socially Liberal Economically Moderate-to- Liberal High Education Levels Reliably Democratic

13. The Midwest – 121 Electoral Votes Socially Moderate Economically Moderate-to-Liberal (with the exception of Indiana and Missouri, which lean more conservative) Strong labor influence Somewhat Democratic, though competitive in every state depending on the year.

14. The Mid-Atlantic – 41 Electoral Votes Socially Moderate- to-Liberal Economically Moderate-to- Conservative Business Oriented Virginia and North Carolina competitive annually, Delaware and Maryland reliably Democratic.

15. Appalachia – 30 Electoral Votes Socially Conservative Economically Conservative Reliably Republican at the National Level Local Democratic Parties Conservative

16. The Deep South – 48 Electoral Votes Socially Conservative Economically Conservative Very Religious Very Republican

17. Florida – 29 Electoral Votes The North Half has more in common with the Deep South. The Southern Half has more in common with Southwest. Pure battleground.

18. The Great Plains – 84 Electoral Votes Socially conservative-to- libertarian Economically conservative Solidly Republican (with few exceptions, notably the Dakotas and Montana) Lots of Cows

19. The Southwest – 31 Electoral Votes Socially Moderate Economically Liberal Large Hispanic Populations Battleground States (with the Exception of New Mexico, which is very Democratic)

20. The West Coast – 78 Electoral Votes Socially Liberal Economically Liberal Reliably Democratic at most levels (though GOP competitive sometimes in local elections)