by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
I think Neil's correct that giving up on the South is a bad idea, primarily because the Democratic party must win a few non-urban Southern districts in order to make the House more competitive. But I don't think the Western strategy is doomed to failure. I've split the Bush-voting states into four categories, based on his current job approval. Mountain West states are in italics, Southern States are in bold:
- Unreachable: Utah, Wyoming, Alabama, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Indiana, Alaska
- Mostly Unreachable: Montana, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas
- Vaguely Reachable: North Carolina, Indiana (!), Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee
- Swing: Louisiana, Ohio, Nevada, Arkansas, Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Florida
