It's amusing to see Virginia listed as a GOP state.
How is this being assessed? Just how the state voted relative to the nation as a whole? If that's the case, there should be more states in the Democrat column. The GOP has only won the popular vote once in the last 6 elections, so the country by default leans Democrat in Presidential elections and therefore voting at about the same percentage as the nation would make a state a lean Democrat state.
It would be amusing if it were the case. By barely Republican I meant reddish purple. I'll make a color chart. If a state is to the right of the popular vote, it's on the right column and if it's to the left it's on the left column. We should also only go back 4 elections because it would be even and more recent. Had Romney won, I'd say we should only go back 2 elections. I base my listings of off the least amount of presidential elections where both parties won.
Safe GOP- dark red Alabama
Solid GOP- red Texas
Likely GOP- light red Tennessee
Leans GOP- purplish red North Carolina
Barely GOP- reddish purple Florida
Toss Up- purple Colorado
Barely Dem- bluish purple Pennsylvania
Leans Dem- purplish blue Michigan
Likely Dem- light blue California
Solid Dem- blue Maryland
Safe Dem- dark blue New York
VA was to the left of the national popular vote last year. Obama had 51.16% to 47.28% for Romney for Obama +3.88% vs. Obama +3.85% nationally. In a national tie, Obama wins it by a few hundred votes.
