GALLUP: Red States Outnumber Blue for First Time in Gallup Tracking.
Gallup’s analysis of political party affiliation at the state level in 2015 finds that 20 states are solidly Republican or leaning Republican, compared with 14 solidly Democratic or leaning Democratic states. The remaining 16 are competitive. This is the first time in Gallup’s eight years of tracking partisanship by state that there have been more Republican than Democratic states. It also marks a dramatic shift from 2008, when Democratic strength nationally was its greatest in recent decades.
The Competitive column includes formerly-blue Pennsylvania and the upper Midwestern states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. All five went for Barack Obama in the last two elections, and hold a total of 62 electoral college votes in 2016.