Ohio
- The south part is rural.
- The centre is midwestern.
- The north is northern.
- One of the closest rates of city versus rural living to the country as a whole.
Illinois also qualifies.
I would agree. OH has better balance of the different types than IL, but IL does better at representing diverse groups such as the Hispanic population. Also southern IL is more "southern" than southern OH, IMO, so it gets better diversity from that as well.
I agree with Illinois. It's southern end does stretch down further than Ohio. Ohio simply does not represent the south well to me.
As for Missouri, St. Louis is simply not big enough of a city to represent urban America. It is a bygone of the early 20th century, a relic long past its prime. And the state's persistence as a bellwether over Delaware is purely an accident of the accidental 2000 election-- if 600 votes had gone the other way in Florida, Delaware might easily be receiving all the hype that Missouri currently gets.
