As a native New Yorker, now living happily in CT, I have always thought of the midwest as one of those areas of the country that everyone instinctively could define. It's west of the Hudson and east of Kaleefornia and north of the south, and south of Canada, or thereabouts.
However, when discussing the ABC/WaPo poll with DHinMI and jd in nyc the other night, the question of how the polls (or anyone else) define the midwest came up, and I was at a loss to find details of how the WaPo, at least, defined that region.
We know from an unimpeachable source (Whadd'ya Know?) that the midwest includes Iowa. But what other states earn that designation? And does the breakdown as per the pollsters fit your definition of the midwest or any of the other regions?
Herein lies the WaPo regional breakdown, presented as a public service (so that you don't have to bother writing them).
The ABC/WaPo polls can be reviewed on line, and broken down by region show Junior's strength greater in the midwest than in my native northeast (no surprise) but also greater than in the south... and this in an area that is a must-win for Dems in 2004.
A quick email to the WaPo assistant polling director resulted in the following breakdown:
Northeast (1) New England - ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI
Northeast (2) Middle Atlantic - NY, NJ, PA
Midwest (3) East North Central - WI, IL, MI, IN, OH
Midwest (4) West North Central - ND, SD, NE, KS, MO, IA, MN
South (5) South Atlantic - WV, VA, DE, MD, NC, SC, GA, FL
South (6) East South Central - KY, TN, MS, AL
South (7) West South Central - OK, TX, AR, LA
West (8) Mountain - MT, ID, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM
West (9) Pacific - WA, OR, CA
Although these smaller regional breakdowns may be available to the pollsters, I cannot find, for example, the East North Central midwest area isolated and published online.
