Blue wall
Blue Wall ( German Blue Wall or Blue Wall ) is a term used in the political language of the United States . He assumes that the electoral majorities for the Democratic Party in some states have become so solid that it is very difficult for the Republican Party to win these states over.
The term alludes to the political and cultural division of the United States into red and blue states . The blue states stand for states with a majority vote for the Democrats and red states for states with a majority vote for the Republicans.
Origin of the term
The term was first used by the Houston Chronicle blogger Chris Ladd.
Ladd, a Republican, wrote in November 2014 that Republican successes in 2014 overshadowed the fundamental problem that the Republican Party was not paying enough attention to the interests of white rural voters in the south. Ladd's analysis was picked up and made prominent by MSNBC commentator Lawrence O'Donnell. There is also a similar “red wall” as states that vote solidly as republicans. However, the strength is not as pronounced. The Republican Party has won only 13 states in each of the last six election cycles, a total of 102 votes.
States behind the blue wall
Behind this blue wall are mostly the states on the west coast, the northeast and in the region around the great lakes. The Big Three of the Democrats are named: California , New York and Illinois . States behind the blue wall are generally the ones that have voted democratically since 1992. The states are (according to the size of the population): California, New York , Illinois, Pennsylvania , Michigan , New Jersey , Washington , Massachusetts , Maryland , Wisconsin , Minnesota , Oregon , Connecticut , Hawaii , Maine , Rhode Island , Delaware and Vermont , as well as the District of Columbia .
These states last voted “red” when George HW Bush clearly defeated Michael Dukakis . Of course, almost everyone voted red in 1984, so Ronald Reagan , when he won the 1984 landslide . Only Minnesota and the District of Columbia didn't vote for Reagan at the time. Minnesota has not voted a Republican since 1972.
Behind the red wall
The states that Republicans have won over the past six terms are: Texas , Alabama , South Carolina , Oklahoma , Mississippi , Utah , Kansas , Nebraska , Idaho , South Dakota , North Dakota , Alaska, and Wyoming with a total of 102 votes. States won five times by Republicans in the last six terms are: Georgia , North Carolina , Arizona , Indiana, and Montana .
criticism
The Democratic "lock" over these states has been called into question as several were contested in the last election and many have elected Republicans who currently hold office such as US Senators or US Governors .
Blue-wall states that have a Republican Senator are Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Maine. Blue-wall states that have Republican governors are Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Maine.
Of the blue states that voted red only once in the last six cycles are: Iowa , New Mexico, and New Hampshire .
Nate Silver has criticized this theory. He argues that the “blue wall” in the elections simply means that the Democrats have had a “pretty good run” and that relatively small election wins could tip the election in favor of the Republicans .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ladd Chris: The Missing Story of the 2014 Election . Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 11/10/2014.
- ↑ 'The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell' for Monday, November 17th, 2014 . NBC News. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- ↑ Holding Democratic “blue wall” was critical to Obama's win on cnn.com
- ↑ Breaking Democrats' 'Blue Wall'
- ↑ Democrats say a 2016 electoral college “blue wall” means Republicans can't win. Wrong
- ^ Nate Silver : There Is No 'Blue Wall' . FiveThirtyEight . May 12, 2015.