Elections in New England

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Barack Obama campaigning in Portsmouth, New Hampshire during his 2012 reelection bid. He carried every New England state in 2008 and 2012.

Elections in New England have been defined by the region's political and cultural history, demographics, economy, and its loyalty to particular U.S. political parties. Within the elections in the United States, New England is sometimes viewed in terms of a single voting bloc.

Presidential[]

Parties
Nonpartisan Federalist Democratic-Republican National Republican Democratic Anti-Masonic Whig Republican
  • Bold denotes election winner.
Presidential electoral votes in the New England states since 1789
Year Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont
1789 Washington Prior to 1820,

modern-Maine

was a part of

Massachusetts

Washington Washington No election No election
1792 Washington Washington Washington Washington Washington
1796 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams
1800 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams
1804 Pinckney Jefferson Jefferson Jefferson Jefferson
1808 Pinckney Pinckney Pinckney Pinckney Madison
1812 Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Madison
1816 King King Monroe Monroe Monroe
1820 Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe
1824 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams
1828 Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams Adams
1832 Clay Jackson Clay Jackson Clay Wirt
1836 Van Buren Van Buren Webster Van Buren Van Buren Harrison
1840 Harrison Harrison Harrison Van Buren Harrison Harrison
1844 Clay Polk Clay Polk Clay Clay
1848 Taylor Cass Taylor Cass Taylor Taylor
1852 Pierce Pierce Scott Pierce Pierce Scott
1856 Frémont Frémont Frémont Frémont Frémont Frémont
1860 Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln
1864 Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln
1868 Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant
1872 Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant
1876 Tilden Hayes Hayes Hayes Hayes Hayes
1880 Garfield Garfield Garfield Garfield Garfield Garfield
1884 Cleveland Blaine Blaine Blaine Blaine Blaine
1888 Cleveland Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison
1892 Cleveland Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison
1896 McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley
1900 McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley McKinley
1904 Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt
1908 Taft Taft Taft Taft Taft Taft
1912 Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Taft
1916 Hughes Hughes Hughes Wilson Hughes Hughes
1920 Harding Harding Harding Harding Harding Harding
1924 Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge Coolidge
1928 Hoover Hoover Smith Hoover Smith Hoover
1932 Hoover Hoover Roosevelt Hoover Roosevelt Hoover
1936 Roosevelt Landon Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Landon
1940 Roosevelt Willkie Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Willkie
1944 Roosevelt Dewey Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Dewey
1948 Dewey Dewey Truman Dewey Truman Dewey
1952 Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower
1956 Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower Eisenhower
1960 Kennedy Nixon Kennedy Nixon Kennedy Nixon
1964 Johnson Johnson Johnson Johnson Johnson Johnson
1968 Humphrey Humphrey Humphrey Nixon Humphrey Nixon
1972 Nixon Nixon McGovern Nixon Nixon Nixon
1976 Ford Ford Carter Ford Carter Ford
1980 Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan Carter Reagan
1984 Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan Reagan
1988 Bush Bush Dukakis Bush Dukakis Bush
1992 Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton
1996 Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton
2000 Gore Gore Gore Bush Gore Gore
2004 Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry
2008 Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama
2012 Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama Obama
2016 Clinton Clinton[†] Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton
2020 Biden Biden[†] Biden Biden Biden Biden
Year Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

In the 2000 presidential election, Democratic candidate Al Gore carried all of the New England states except for New Hampshire, and in 2004, John Kerry, a New Englander himself, won all six New England states.[1] In both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, every congressional district with the exception of New Hampshire's 1st district were won by Gore and Kerry respectively. During the 2008 Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton won the three New England states containing Greater Boston (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire), while Barack Obama won the three that did not (Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont). In the 2008 presidential election, Obama carried all six states by 9 percentage points or more.[2] He carried every county in New England except for Piscataquis County, Maine, which he lost by 4% to Senator John McCain (R-AZ). As of the 2010 census, New England collectively has 33 electoral votes.

The six states of New England voted for the Democratic Presidential nominee in the 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012 elections, and every state but New Hampshire voted for Al Gore in the presidential election of 2000. In the 113th Congress the House delegations from all six states of New England are all Democratic. New England is home to the only two independent politicians currently serving in the U.S. Senate: Angus King, who represents Maine and Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont.

New Hampshire primary[]

Main article: New Hampshire primary
Alumni Hall at Saint Anselm College has served as a backdrop for the media reports during the New Hampshire primary.

Historically, the New Hampshire primary has been the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years. Held in the state of New Hampshire, it usually marks the beginning of the U.S. presidential election process. Even though few delegates are chosen from New Hampshire, the primary has always been pivotal to both New England and American politics. One college in particular, Saint Anselm College, has been home to numerous national presidential debates and visits by candidates to its campus.[3]

Local factories and diners are valuable photo opportunities for candidates, who hope to use this quintessential New England image to their advantage by portraying themselves as sympathetic to blue collar workers. Media coverage of the primary enables candidates low on funds to "rally back"; an example of this was President Bill Clinton who referred to himself as "The Comeback Kid" following the 1992 primary. National media outlets have converged on small New Hampshire towns, such as during the 2007 and 2008 national presidential debates held at Saint Anselm College in the town of Goffstown.[4][5] Goffstown and other towns in New Hampshire have been experiencing this influx of national media since the 1950s.

Political party strength[]

Judging purely by party registration rather than voting patterns, New England today is one of the most Democratic regions in the U.S.,[6][7][8] with four of the six states considered among the most solidly Democratic in the country. New Hampshire and Maine are generally swing states in federal elections.[9] Republicans in New England are considered by both liberals and conservatives to be more moderate (even socially liberal) compared to Republicans in other parts of the U.S.[10]

State Governor Senior U.S. Senator Junior U.S. Senator U.S. House Delegation Upper House Majority Lower House Majority
CT N. Lamont R. Blumenthal C. Murphy Democratic 5–0 Democratic 23–13 Democratic 97–54
ME J. Mills S. Collins A. King[‡] Democratic 2–0 Democratic 22-13 Democratic 80–65-4-1-1
MA C. Baker E. Warren E. Markey Democratic 9–0 Democratic 37-3 Democratic 129–31
NH C. Sununu J. Shaheen M. Hassan Democratic 2–0 Republican 14–10 Republican 208–187
RI D. McKee J. Reed S. Whitehouse Democratic 2–0 Democratic 33–5 Democratic 65-10
VT P. Scott P. Leahy B. Sanders[‡] Democratic 1–0 Democratic 21–7–2 Democratic 92–46–7–5

See also[]

Notes[]

† Clinton and Biden won the overall state, but Donald Trump won Maine's 2nd congressional district in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
‡ Elected as an independent, but caucuses with the Democratic Party.

References[]

  1. ^ "2006 Political Party Breakdown by State". The Green Papers. Retrieved July 19, 2006.
  2. ^ "Election Center 2008". CNN. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  3. ^ "Mike Huckabee: Mike Huckabee's Weekly Schedule for Sept. 24". All American Patriots website. September 25, 2007. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  4. ^ "Candidates Face Off At St. Anselm's College". CBS News. January 7, 2008.
  5. ^ "Election Center 2008 - Election & Politics News from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  6. ^ Salzman, Avi (December 18, 2005). "A Laboratory For Liberals?". New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  7. ^ "New England grapples with first execution". Concord Monitor. May 13, 2005. Archived from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  8. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (June 8, 2006). "Gregg cites states' rights in voting against amendment". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  9. ^ "Number of Solidly Democratic States Cut in Half From '08 to '10". Gallup. February 21, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  10. ^ Purple, Matt (April 10, 2010). "No More 'New England Republicans'". The American Spectator. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
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