Tagged: The Party Line

While the national electorate returned a divided govern­ment to Washington, D.C., state capitals reflect a new norm in unified political party control, with North Carolina being a prime example. 

Blue = Democratic Unified Party Control; Red = Republican Unified Party Control; Purple = Divided Party Control (Nebraska’s unicameral legislature is non-partisan)

In 15 states, Democrats control both the legislature and the chief executive, while in 23 states, the GOP controls both branches of state government.

­­­An interesting discussion has ensued over the role of the South in presidential elections.  Karen Cox, a professor of history at UNC-Charlotte, wrote in the New York Times that “it’s tough being a Southern liberal,” especially to the chagrin of non-Southern liberals in a region that appeared (with the exception of Virginia and Florida) solidly red in this year’s election.

In a previous post, I noted that the United States is seeing a pattern of “regionalism” when it comes to presidential elections.  Since 2000, both parties have dominated in two sets of regions, while one region consistently plays the “battleground” status to determining who wins the White House.

Our political history has seen rare instances where the nation, as a whole, has been consistent in terms of “red” versus “blue” states in our presidential elections.  Yet, since 2000, the fact that regionalism serves as a guiding force in our electoral maps has made the past four presidential elections notable.

The 2012 Election: It’s a New North Carolina

Now that the dust has settled in the and we have all (hopefully) survived the general election, some thoughts on the aftermath of the 2012 election.

First, North Carolina is more like Virginia than South Carolina.