How did Virginia and NM stay reliably blue since 2008, but Indiana and NC revert back to red?

[moose65]

7. I think that's part of it

Virginia has certainly gone blue due to demographic shift and the growth of the northern Virginia suburbs of DC.

New Mexico has really swung our way since 2000. Most people probably don't remember this because the 2000 election focused so much on Florida, but New Mexico was actually CLOSER that year! Gore won it by something like 315 votes. Since then, it has rapidly turned blue. Demographics help there, as well. NM is one of the few states that doesn't have a white majority.

Indiana was truly a surprise in 2008. I don't think it was really on anyone's radar - Obama kinda snuck in and stole it. That shows that with the right candidate, Indiana can be won by Democrats. I'm sure that the turnout in Indianapolis and the northern Indiana suburbs of Chicago was a factor in Obama's victory.

My own NC keeps teasing us with turning blue, but hasn't quite made it there yet. We have three major urban centers: Charlotte and its suburbs; the Triangle area around Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill; and the Triad around Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point. All of those areas are growing and reliably blue. Demographics are helping. NC is 22% African-American and the white population is inching down toward 60%. We elected a Dem governor in 2016 and broke the Republican supermajority in the state legislature. Plus, the Republicans had to re-district yet again last year, following the latest of a bunch of lawsuits against them.