Red States and Blue States

Red States And Blue States

Red states and blue states refer to those states of the United States whose residents predominantly vote for the Republican Party (red) or Democratic Party (blue) presidential candidates. This terminology came into use in the United States presidential election of 2000 on an episode of the Today show on October 30, 2000. According to AlterNet and The Washington Post, the terms were coined by journalist Tim Russert, during his televised coverage of the 2000 presidential election. That was not the first election during which the news media used colored maps to graphically depict voter preferences in the various states, but it was the first time a standard color scheme took hold; the colors were often reversed or different colors used before the 2000 election. Since 2000, usage of the term has been expanded to differentiate between states being perceived as liberal and those perceived as conservative. This reverses a long-standing convention, where the red symbols (such as the Red Flag or Red Star) are associated with Socialist and revolutionary movements, and conservative movements often choose blue as a contrasting color.