blue state

American  

[bloo steyt] / ˈblu ˌsteɪt /

noun

U.S. Politics.

1. a state of the U.S. that usually votes Democratic.

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Etymology

Origin of blue state

With reference to the color used on maps in televised coverage of the 2000 U.S. presidential election to show the states won by the Democratic candidate

Compare meaning

How does blue-state compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• blue state vs. red state

Example Sentences

The findings are remarkably consistent with past polling on the Republican president in the nation’s most populous blue state, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Poll.

From Los Angeles Times

Using their hotel complex as a base camp, Democrats have done scores of media interviews out of their cramped rooms and a small park off the Fox River in Illinois; hosted news conferences with federal, state and party leaders at local union halls and blue state capitols; and met with Democratic governors and elected officials from across the country.

From Salon

“Cloud seeding is a water supply tool, and whether you’re a farmer in a red state or an environmentalist in a blue state, water is as nonpartisan as it gets,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

As such, the Washington primary has historically been useful for predicting what the national House of Representatives vote will look like once you account for the difference between Washington, which is a heavily blue state, and the country at large.

From Slate

Although long a blue state, New Mexico elected Republican Susana Martinez, the country’s first Latina governor, to two terms beginning in 2011.

From Los Angeles Times