How Reagan won 49 states

[Antonio the Sixth]

For the most parts, I share your doubts. I don't know how Reagan managed to win in MA, RI, or even NY. For New Jersey though, it's not that surprising. Remember that even in 1992 Clinton almost lost it. Its democratic realignment only dates back to the late 90s AFAIK. As for Hawaii, its voting patterns have never been extremely clear. Sure, it's usually more democratic than the nation as a whole, and in 2008 it's given Obama a stalinian victory, but it's used to pretty weird swings (from giving Humphrey a landslide in 1968 to supporting Nixon by an even more commanding margin in 1972, to narrowly voting for Carter when he won in 1976, to still narrowly supporting him when he got trounced nationwide, etc...). My guess is that Alaska and Hawaii, being recent State, have taken a few decades to "stabilize" their voting patterns, after experiencing wild swings in both directions (remember LBJ also won Alaska with 66% !).