On the surface, I would say Bad. The US Census bureau reported that the South and West are the fastetst growing regions. The fastest growing states in the West are NV(helped by Las Vegas), UT, ID and NM, and AZ. Growth also high in GA, TX. MA was the only state to lose people, with a slight 3,800 decline.
I dont know if this is related(this is why I intially said "Bad"), but Politicalwire.com notes that the American City Business Journals states that if reapportionment happened today,
then AZ, TX, UT, and FL would all get another house seat, while IA, OH, NY, and PA would lose one. This obviously has an impact on the 2012 Electoral Map.
Again, worrisome, but then the article mentions that many of those moving to the west and south are from urban areas(Boston, LA, Denver) and are trying to get away from the
densely packed cities and high cost of living. Many have suggested this is why NV has turned purple(b/c ex-Californians are flocking there too, as well as to AZ). Also, I saw a report not too long ago about African Americans, who have left the south in large numbers at various points in history, returning to friendlier, more progressive regions of NC, VA, and GA(Atlanta) and other large southern cities. So maybe ppl moving from cities that tilt blue to the rural areas plus a message targeted to conservative rural voters would help Dems. This shouldnt be too hard. Talk about the social issues openly. Talk about the economy and the war in Iraq in moral terms(It is moral to leave troops w/o armor? It is moral to leave 45 million w/o access to healthcare?). These areas are hardest hit by job losses and deaths in Iraq. I know, getting them is easier said than done, but hopefully this Census data is evidence that a 50 state strategy is important, which is why wins by Dems in 04 in Salt Lake City and MT are so key and can hopefully spread across the country. Thoughts?