SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah has been reliably red throughout this election cycle and has been a GOP stronghold for the last several elections. Utah only carries six electoral votes, up from five last cycle.
Though it hasn’t happened in quite some time, Utah has voted blue in the past, according to 270ToWin, but, what is the origin story of the term “red state” and “blue state?” How did the parties get their colors on the map?
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Origin of the terms “red state” and “blue state”
Though a common term in political nomenclature, the terms “red state” and “blue state” haven’t been around for as long as you think.
According to NPR , the terms were first coined back in 1976 starting with television. Over time, the terms gradually trickled into different spaces of the media from newspapers to radio. In 1976, the color blue for the incumbent, Republican Gerald Ford. The color red for the challenger, Democrat Jimmy Carter.
That was due in part that blue was the color of the Union in the Civil War. As more networks (like ABC and others) went to full color, no network could agree on what party should be what color. That remained until 2000.