Obama showed biggest gains over '04 in Indiana, ND & western states

[book_worm]

How did Obama perform compared to 2004? Let's look at Obama's margin gains:

AL: D+4
AK: R+5
AZ: D+2
AR: R+11
CA: D+14
CO: D+12
CT: D+11
DE: D+16
DC: D+6
FL : D+8
GA: D+12
HI: D+36
ID: D+12
IL: D+14
IN: D+22
IA: D+10
KS: D+9 KY: D+4
LA: R+4
ME: D+9
MD: D+10
MA: D+1
MI: D+13
MN: D+7
MS: D+6
MO: D+7
MT: D+17
NE: D+17
NV: D+14
NH: D+8
NJ: D+8
NM: D+16
NY: D+7
NC: D+12 ND: D+20
OH: D+6
OK: Even
OR: D+11
PA: D+8
RI: D+7
SC: D+8
SD: D+14
TN: R+1
TX: D+11
UT: D+17
VT: D+15
VA: D+13
WA: D+10
WV: Even
WI: D+13
WY: D+8


Only four states showed Republican gains, and one of them wouldn't have if their governor hadn't been on the ticket. The Appalachian states, as expected, underperformed the rest of the country. Arkansas was the best gainer for Republicans.

An impressive 26 states -- over half -- sported double-digit gains over 2004. Indiana was the biggest gainer at +22, followed by North Dakota at +20.

Western states were particularly fertile: North Dakota (+20), Montana (+17), Nebraska (+17), Utah (+17), New Mexico (+16), California (+14), Nevada (+14), Colorado (+12), Idaho (+12), Oregon (+11), Washington (+10). Arizona had McCain's "favorite son" status to prop up his numbers. Wyoming (+8), was the only western state not to reach double-digit gains. The Democrats' western strategy is in full force. And sure, Idaho and Utah may be a long way from being truly competitive at the presidential level, but this is how we build a long-term movement -- by making incremental gains year over year. (Hey, that's a chapter in Taking on the System!)

www.dailykos.com