This is something that's been bugging me since the US presidential election.

IS IT or IS IT NOT a FACT

that in PAST ELECTIONS,

BLUE represented the REPUBLICAN party, and

RED represented the DEMOCRATIC party?

IF this is a FACT, then

WHY WAS THE OPPOSITE THE CASE IN THIS YEAR'S ELECTION?

OR am I just an ignorant foreigner? The only explanation I can think of is that they alternate colours. Which would be REALLY WEIRD.

Update: Silly me.

Red states and blue states refer to those states of the United States whose residents predominantly vote for the Republican Party or Democratic Party presidential candidates, respectively. According to The Washington Post, the terms were coined by television journalist Tim Russert during his televised coverage of the 2000 presidential election.[1] That was not, however, the first election during which the news media used colored maps to graphically depict voter preferences in the various states, but it was the first time a standard color scheme took hold. Since then, usage of the term has been expanded to differentiate between states being perceived as liberal and those perceived as conservative. A blue state may therefore be any state leaning towards the Democratic ticket while a red state may be any state leaning towards the Republican ticket.

 

This unofficial system used in the United States stands in contrast to the system of political colors in most other long-established democracies, where blue represents right wing and conservative parties, while red represents left-wing, socialist parties.

I could have looked this up before I wigged out.

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