The West vs The GOP

Remember when the GOP was the party of Nixon and Reagan, both Californians? That was before the Dixie cuckoo took over the nest. Larry Sabato takes a closer look at the GOP 2010 wave: 

The Pacific states of California, Oregon, and Washington have become a Blue sandbar that can withstand even a Republican tsunami. Strong GOP candidates for Governor in Oregon and California were defeated. Credible Republican Senate contenders in California and Washington could not oust Democratic incumbents. With 53 House berths, not a single Golden State seat changed party hands.

Back in 1994, the last GOP landslide year, Republicans picked up three seats in California. The story is worse for Republicans in Washington State, which was ground zero for the GOP in 1994, when the party won six House seats and held their Senate seat too. All the state’s House seats save one were impervious to a Red tide this time around.

Regional polarization is once again a fixture in American politics, even in years that are overwhelmingly tilted to one party.