Alabama
			9 votes
			Bush - 26 points
			The last time this state voted Democratic....
			..."Rocky" was a top-grossing movie.
			Race
			- Heavily white - Large African-American population
			Race has always been a dividing line in Alabama and this election was no exception. The differences were stark. An astounding four of every five whites voted for George W. Bush. More than nine of every ten blacks supported his opponent. Whites make up about three quarters of the state's population.
			Age
			Bush across the board
			No help here for Kerry. Every age group voted for Bush - and the older they were the more strongly they did so. Fifty-seven percent of the youngest voters supported Bush. Seventy percent of the oldest did so.
			Economics
			Poor - Kerry Working/lower middle classes - Slightly Bush Middle class and up - Heavily Bush
			The poorest ten percent of the populace actually broke significantly for Kerry. But over half of Alabama voters are in the working or lower middle classes and these supported Bush - though not by devastating margins. The devastating blows fell from the upper middle classes ($50,000-$100,000). These make up almost 30% of Alabama's electorate and they voted for Bush by almost 4 to 1.
			Politics
			- Highly partisan - Strong Republican tilt - Good Democratic loyalty - Exceptional Republican loyalty - Independents tilt strongly Republican
			Party identification is high here with 82% of voters identifying with one party or the other and the balance heavily favors the Republicans. Almost half of all voters are Republicans while only about a third are Democrats. A less important factor is party loyalty. While Democratic loyalty (92%) is higher here than it is nationally, GOP party loyalty is almost Stepford-wiveish at 99%! No partisans from either party in any state in the union matched the loyalty of Alabama Republicans to their candidate. As for the few Alabamans who call themselves independents, they are closet Republicans. Two-thirds voted for Bush.
			Ideology
			- Strong conservative tilt
			Liberalism goes begging here where righties outnumber lefties almost 3 to 1. Even those who are liberal don't always vote like it. Almost 3 of every 10 liberals supported Bush. Oddly, however conservatives also sported a higher defection rate than the national average, though not as bad. Almost one fifth supported Kerry.
			Religion
			- Heavily Protestant
			Protestants rule the roost here. More than four of every five Alabama voters fall into that category. Three guesses who they voted for. Protestants are so dominant that no other group was even big enough to register usable totals on the exit poll.
			Demographics
			- Mixed but predominately suburban
			Even the quarter of the state classified as urban didn't really help Kerry. It split even. From there it was down hill. The suburbs and rural areas all provided crushing margins for Bush - generally about 2 to 1. Bush's margin was a bit weaker in outstate rural areas and somewhat stronger in small towns.
			Other factors
			Kerry was unlikely to do well in a state where 62% of the populace approve of the Bush presidency (and of those a clear majority "strongly" approve.) Moreover 3 of every 5 voters approved of the war.

The Land of the Blue

Where centrism and progressivism meet