Gallup Noticed a Big Change Going on in the Number of Red Vs Blue States in the US

Gallup Noticed a Big Change Going on in the Number of Red Vs Blue States in the US

By Victoria Taft 

In 2008 when Barack Obama swept into office on the promise of “hope” and “change,” the United States was its most Democratic — or blue — leaning in years.
Now, eight years later, Gallup reports that things have taken a dramatic turn:

“Gallup’s analysis of political party affiliation at the state level in 2015 finds that 20 states are solidly Republican or leaning Republican, compared with 14 solidly Democratic or leaning Democratic states. The remaining 16 are competitive. This is the first time in Gallup’s eight years of tracking partisanship by state that there have been more Republican than Democratic states.”

Here is Gallup’s map of how that plays across the country:

The change in the trend could help the GOP in the 2016 election, but with one caveat – the electoral map still favors the Democrats:

“The 20 states that Gallup classifies as solidly Republican or leaning Republican account for 152 electoral votes, less than the 187 accounted for by the 14 solidly or leaning Democratic states plus the heavily Democratic District of Columbia.”

Still, Gallup says the trend is a “positive sign for the GOP”:

Image Credit: Screenshot/Gallup

The polling firm says the dramatic shift occurred in the last two years:

“In all, 13 states’ political classifications changed between 2014 and 2015, with 11 of these shifting in a more Republican direction. The Democrats lost three states — Maine, Pennsylvania and Michigan — each of which moved from Democratic-leaning to competitive. Meanwhile, Republicans gained five states — New Hampshire, West Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas — all moving from competitive to leaning or solidly Republican.”

Here are the most conservative and liberal states:

Image Credit: Screenshot/Gallup

Gallup’s survey was based on its daily tracking poll of nearly 180,000 adults nationwide.