Maine is nation’s whitest, most rural state that doesn’t vote Republican

Maine Beacon -Maine tops a list of just seven states where demographics have not yet become a reliable predictor of whether voters will break towards Democrats or Republicans in national elections. 

Maine, which has a higher share than average of white, rural voters without a college education, should vote much redder, suggests a study of nationwide voting trends. But the state has gone purple to blue in recent elections.

The list was created by the national political magazine, Governing. They looked at federal data, which does reinforce a dominant media narrative around national elections — Republicans have the most traction among rural, white voters without a college degree while Democrats tend to do better in more diverse urban areas with voters with at least an undergraduate degree.