Red States and Blue States
Came into use in 2000 to refer to those states of the United States whose residents predominantly vote for the Republican Party or Democratic Party presidential candidates, respectively. A blue state tends to vote for the Democratic Party, and a red state tends to vote for the Republican Party, although the colors were often reversed or different colors used before the 2000 election. According to The Washington Post, the terms were coined by late television journalist Tim Russert during his televised coverage of the 2000 presidential election. That was not, however, the first election during which the news media used colored maps to graphically depict voter preferences in the various states, but it was the first time a standard color scheme took hold. Since 2000, usage of the term has been expanded to differentiate between states being perceived as liberal and those perceived as conservative.
This unofficial system used in the United States stands in contrast to the system of political colors in most other long-established democracies, where blue represents right-wing and conservative parties, while red represents left-wing and socialist parties.
Comments