Primary Colors

2004 electoral map

We were a nation divided, with landlocked states voting Republican and Pacific, North Atlantic and some Great Lakes states voting Democratic.  The “red state,” “blue state” divide was palpable.

Fast forward to (Super) Tuesday night.  If you look at the turnout in “red states,” or states that went for Bush in 2004, the numbers indicate a significant shift in the electorate.  Democrats had a larger turnout in all “red states,” save for three - Utah, Arizona, and Alabama. In North Dakota, for example, a state where 63% of the vote went for George Bush in 2004, democrats outnumbered republicans by a margin of almost 2-1 in the state’s caucus on Tuesday night.  In Georgia, where Bush won 58%, to Kerry’s 41% in 2004, more than 90,000 more democrats voted in the state’s primary.  

While primary turnout doesn’t necessarily translate to the general election, it certainly is one indicator that we may see a more fluid electoral map come November.

-Julia Weinberg, 360° Associate Producer