Why didn't Hillary have a big margin in New England?

[DPKdebator]

The rise of the religious right caused New England to significantly trend left in the 90s, as the region is traditionally one of the most secular in America. In 2000, some residual ancestral Republican voting patterns could be seen in Bush's win in New Hampshire and decent showing in Maine and Vermont. However, in 2004 northern New England swung to the left as the Iraq War and Bush's cowboy persona didn't play well in the region. Additionally, John Kerry was from Massachusetts so he probably got a regional favorite son boost. Today New England continues to be Democratic-leaning, but there are favorable trends for the GOP in much of the region. Trump significantly improved on Romney's performance in rural and working-class areas, while doing much worse in metro Boston and the Gold Coast. Trump was less explicitly religious compared to past GOP nominees, which helped him make inroads in secular New England. Northern New England is a pretty protectionist area and pockets of it very much so resemble the Rust Belt, so Trump's message on trade played really well in the region.