Anyone Else Ever Hear This?

[Free Bird]

I don't know if this should go in History or not, so I'll just put it here. Did anyone else ever read that when they became states at the same time, people expected Hawaii to be the red state and Alaska the blue but of course they reversed those expected roles? I could have sworn I read this somewhere but can't find it. Has anyone else heard this and if so do you have any context?

[LLR]

I think I read it here on Atlas, but that probably means it's bullsh**t.

[Rocky Rockefeller]

Well looking on wikipedia, democrats held the alaska state house for all but four years between 1933 and statehood, while republicans controlled the hawaiian house from the 1920s till 1955.

[Cubby]

Yes I have read that before, but I forget if it was here on the Atlas, Wikipedia or somewhere else. Unfortunately I don't recall why they thought that.

[tmthforu94]

Looking back at the results, Hawaii seems to also be very pro-incumbment, which makes sense considering Inouye and Akaka. I may have missed one, but it seems like the incumbent did better in their reelection campaign almost every year, sometimes by significant margins. Didn't Cheney campaign there in 2004?

[Vega]

It's absolutely true, and if you look at how both of them voted before 1959, you'll see that. Alaska looked to be a Lean D state, and Hawaii had voted for primarily Republicans up until 1954 (the Democratic Revolution it was called, when workers at Sugar Companies demanded fair wages and fair conditions in general), when Asians (particularly Japanese) took interest in the election, and ran for and won legislative seats. It was a big victory that was in part organized by future Governor Jack Burns.

But that was seen as more of a blip, and they were admitted as two ideologically contrasting states. Nobody knew the impact oil and to some extent the military would have on Alaska at the time.

I think I read it here on Atlas, but that probably means it's bullsh**t.

It does?