Will California, Washington or Oregon ever vote Republican?

[Citizen James]

not in my lifetime. I'm convinced they're all lost causes.

Oh, come now - your profile says you're only 21.  You could easily live past 2060 or even 2080.  A mere two decades ago California seemed pretty safe Republican - it had gone that way for the past 6 elections.  Although 4 of those had Californians at the top of the ticket, we still supported Ford '76 and Bush '88.

Within my lifetime (and I am not 'an old' except in the context of this board) Mississippi and Massachusetts actually voted for the same candidate (Carter, 1976)

Things change.  It can be interesting to speculate on trends, but taking certainty about social trends is foolish.

[Citizen James]

Ever is a very, very long time.

Within the next few cycles (2012,2016,2020) - probably not.  But 50-100 years from now - that's a lot harder to guess.  Demographics change, as do party positions.  A century ago the Republicans were the liberals and the Democrats the conservatives.

Things change.   I would think fellow students/enthusiasts of American political history would recognize that.