(RepublicanInformer.com)- Elections in the United States are typically won by swing states and swing voters changing their minds, while some states continue voting for the same party no matter what. Some states are considered so safe for political parties that their candidates don’t even campaign in those states, or at least, don’t show up any more than they need to.
This partisanship is analyzed by the Cook Partisan Voting Index. This is a system that analyses how strongly a state leans towards one party based on data from the last two presidential elections. The index helps predict the likelihood of a candidate winning particular states.
States with higher partisan voting scores are less likely to change their mind in a presidential election, while those considered “EVEN” or with a low score may be more likely to be swayed by a convincing candidate from the opposite party.
How the Score Works
Before we look at the top five most heavily Republican states, let’s look at how the scores work. Under the Cook Partisan Voting Index, states are assigned a letter and a score. This score represents the party that the state voted for in the last presidential election and the strength by which i8t leaned towards that party.
The letter is D or R, depending on the party, as well as a plus sign and a number.
The Top Five Republican-leaning States
- Wyoming – R+25
Wyoming is easily the most heavily Republican state in the country and leads more strongly towards Republicans than any of the Democrat states lean towards the Democrats. The +25 score is higher than any Democrat state, including California.
The Republican candidate for president has won the state every single time since 1968.
- Utah – R+20
Utah swings more heavily towards the Republicans by any other Democrat state leaning to the Democrats, too.
Between 1976 and 2004, Utah was the most heavily Republican-leaning state in the country.
- Oklahoma – R+20
Oklahoma is part of the “Bible Belt,” which spans the eastern and southern part of the United States known for its socially conservative and religious views. It is overwhelmingly protestant Christian and leans heavily to the Republican Party as a result.
The biggest churches in the region include the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church, and the Roman Catholic Church.
- West Virginia – R+19
West Virginia is a staunchly Republican part of the country with a history in coal mining. It has not, however, always been Republican. Throughout the 2000s, much of the state politics were dominated by the Democrats. It was after 2016 that the Republicans took back control, holding on to their seats and making big gains in the state Senate.
- Idaho – R+19
Idaho has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since 1964, and even during that election, it was by a margin smaller than two percentage points. In 2004, George W. Bush won by some 38 points in the presidential election.
