A Curious Difference Between Red States and Blue States

Taken as a whole, both parties now have large numbers of economic haves and economic have-nots.  The current class distribution within the parties is in direct contrast from the height of the New Deal Coalition (1932-1968) when the classes were more neatly divided between the Republican-haves and the Democratic-have-nots.  While the New Deal dichotomy has eroded since its peak, the rates of erosion are lower in red states than in blue states.

The difference between red states and blue states is that the New Deal coalitions are more pronounced in red states than in blue states.  In red states, wealth is a much stronger indicator of voting preferences.  Poorer, less educated people are more likely to vote for Democrats and richer, better educated people are more likely to vote for Republicans.  In blue states, wealth is much less of an indicator for voting preferences.  The poor in blue states still vote reliably Democratic but wealthier voters are a battleground between the GOP and Dems instead of just being squarely in the GOP column.

Want to see solid evidence for my theory: click here.  Check out the differences between MA/WA/CO (blue states) and AZ/LA/KY (red states).