‘Blue’ didn’t always mean ‘Democrat’

While your Nov. 6 “Back to Blue” article is entirely correct in pointing out that Indiana has gone Democratic for the first time since 1964, it’s not entirely accurate to say that it’s the first time in that span that Indiana has “gone blue.”

The practice of labeling states red or blue didn’t come about until NBC News introduced it in 1976. States that Jimmy Carter won would light up in red, while states that Gerald Ford won would light up in blue – backwards from what the color scheme is today.

It wasn’t until the 2000 presidential election and the drama with Florida that the colors began to stick (before that they would alternate), leaving the Republicans with red and the Democrats with blue.

Tim Street
IU graduate student