Red State, Blue State

Guest: David Scott Kastan, PhD, George M. Bodman Professor of English, Yale University States that vote consistently Republican—like Wyoming, North Dakota and Mississippi—are called “red states.” What is it about the Republican platform that lends itself to red? Or what about Democrats is best represented by blue? Nothing, actually. The color-coded political system in the United States is really just a fluke that only came to be in the last few decades.