the states that are dying out (all dem controlled BTW)
What? I think only Michigan has lost population in the last decade or so, and its state government is largely Republican.
Well the state did have a Dem Governor for most of the decade of the 2000's. Still MI is largely dependent on Auto Manufacturing because of the Detroit Automakers being based in the state. This explains the population drop from 2008-2011 because of the Detroit Automakers needing a bailout and bankruptcy to reform their business models. A lot of people left the state because they lost their job in the Auto Manufacturing Sector.
The state did lose population from 2005-2007 as well but that was because the Suburbs around Detroit weren't growing enough population wise to more than offset population losses from the City of Detroit.