General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: How about we save the purity tests for blue states? [View all]rpannier
(25,000 posts)I don't think he lost because he distanced himself from Obama like some others here seem to think or because he stood for nothing
He had the most popular politician in the whole damned state there almost everyday (Bill Clinton) and that couldn't save him
There are regions of the country where being of one party or the other is toxic
States like Arkansas are more noticeable because they are small.
When one party does really poorly it looms brighter than if a larger state like Texas, California or Florida has a shift because there are more districts. A two seat shift in Arkansas is a big deal, while in a large state is a meh.
If the San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley/San Jose/Concord area were one state all the House seats, Senate seats and state races would be won by Democrats (90%) of the time
Look at Hawaii