red state
GOP-leaning region
A red state is a U.S. state that reliably votes Republican in elections, from the color used to represent Republican victories on electoral maps.
The term emerged in the early 2000s alongside its counterpart blue state.
Beyond voting patterns, red state often implies cultural conservatism: Red state values dominated the debate.
The designation shifts over time as voting patterns change.
- GOPRepublican Party acronym
- right-wingPolitically conservative faction
- Bible BeltProtestant-heavy U.S. territory
- conservativeCautious about altering customs
- Sun BeltWarm U.S. southern tier
Republican Party · politics · elections · Southern culture · country music · Alabama · social conservatism · polarization · traditionalism · Rust Belt · culture war · gerrymandering · electoral college · Tea Party movement · heartland · flyover country · Congress · Trump
- politicsdemocracy, campaigning, campaigns, democrats, bill
- U.S. PoliticsCongress, senator, representative, president, vice president
- US Politicsconservatism, ballot, liberalism, bill, constitutionalism
- political jargonfilibuster, gerrymandering, caucus, pork barrel, lame duck
- RepublicansGOP, Republican, RNC, elephant, conservatives
- State Politicslegislature, statehouse, General Assembly, governor, lieutenant governor
red stateswing state
Electorally competitive region
battleground state · purple state · toss-up state · contested state · bellwether state
red, state, reddish, redness, red states, redden, redder, reddened, reddest