How blue is Washington state? Living in Washington state myself, I've known it to be solidly Democratic in terms of the presidential election for each major election in my lifetime. At the same time I've alson known of the strong divide that exists between Western Washington and Eastern Washington regarding their political affiliations. This map is an interactive attempt to understand exactly how Washingtonians vote as well as some of the historical trends that are reflected in their voting histories.
Washington
Overall Washington State can look solidly blue, but clicking on individual counties it is easy to see that the further east one goes, the further Republican it leans. A standout in Eastern Washington is Whitman county, home to Washington State University. Meanwhile counties in/around the Puget Sound core lean heavily Democratic with the most populous county in votes King County overpowering the less populated counties further east.
Key to the Democratic win year to year is King County with its over 600,000 vote margin over the Republican party nominee. Where 2016 was a downturn year for both Democrats and Republicans alike, that story does not track across all counties. Where the Democrats consistently lost voters in 2016, the Republican turnout is far less so with some counties such as Whitman, Benton, and Garfield losing Republican voters, counties like Grays Harbor, Ferry, and Pacific county finding untapped reservoirs of energized voters. Another interesting narrative is how the third party votes (see below) have trended across time. With the 2020 presidential election mobilizing voters from all over, we saw record-shattering turnouts surpassing the previous three elections. At the same time 2020 appears to have reversed previous years' trends of a rapidly growing third party base as members found it less viable to vote as such. More information here.