Something interesting is happening in Texas. It's a state that has been bright Red for a while. It's the home of Bush's Crawford ranch and the Bush family runs deep there. It has a substantial amount of evangelicals and right wing wingnuts.
But Obama broke 43% in Texas. McCain's margin of victory was just about 11% in Texas. This puts it very close to Leans Republican, not Solid Republican. And, the trend there is in our favor. There are no Bush family Coattails to be had anymore. The hispanic population continues to grow. Big Oil still dominates the economy, but if we switch to Greener more renewable energy, that lock on votes in Texas will start to fragment. Texas has 34 electoral votes... Imagine if the Democrats could shoot for those in future elections. ... More on Arizona below -
Arizona.......Hmmm McCain was in jeapardy of losing it. In the end, Obama got more than 45% of the vote in AZ. If it wasn't McCain's home state, it would have been in play a lot sooner in this past election cycle. Janet Napolitano is a popular Democratic Governor. Phoenix has the most voters, and much of Phoenix is with the right wing religious camp. But the college and grad school educated folks in the Scottsdale area and North Phoenix areas are trending Democrat. Northern AZ, with progressive communities in Sedona and Flagstaff have trended Democrat. Tucson, with U of A has tremendous potential.
Arizona has both demographics that we needed to win Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico: Growing blue collar hispanic communities, and growing college educated (grad school educated) middle classes.
It will be one thing to keep focused on keeping Obama's Blue states blue. I mean, one could make a strong argument that keeping attention on Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana is where the focus should stay. The focus on keeping Ohio and Iowa happy is also a high priority.
We have to work to deliver jobs and health care and improved infrastructure and end the Iraq war etc. etc. for the folks in those places.
But in terms of scouting out the next big targets on the map, I think we have to start thinking about growing our footprint in Texas and Arizona.
That's another 44 electoral votes. Not to mention lots of interesting congressional districts to examine in 2010....
Obvioulsy, this is cart before the horse stuff.
Obama needs a very successful first 100 days, 16 months, etc. He needs to draw down at least 90% of our forces in Iraq an re-deploy many to Afganistan. He needs a Health Care bill, a jobs stimulus package and an energy bill and fast. He needs to clean up the Dept. of Justice, Interior and the EPA. He needs to start thinking about trade agreements. And on and on... a daunting task.
I'm just thinking about sustainability here. I want to see our new majority last deep into the next era of history.