Presidential Election Results, 2004-2008

The terms Red State or Blue State refer to those states which voted primarily for the Republican Party or Democratic Party in a presidential election. The Washington Post credits NBC journalist Tim Russert with coining the terms during the 2000 presidential election.

However, this "either/or" categorization treats a 51% victory just like 61% one. It also hides population differences.

To more accurately reflect population differences, scientists use a cartogram, which rescales the states based upon population. Maps and cartograms with county-level election results provide additional nuance.

But there's still an "either/or" bias that disguises closely fought states and counties. The most nuanced image of the vote is based on county results colored red, blue and purple, with the intensity of the color reflecting the degree by which a party carried that county.

These maps are of the lower 48 states.