Political Divide Gets Wider

Unlike the midterm election victory in 1994 when Republican gains were consistent across the US, the 2010 GOP sweep shows a widening of the gulf between large urban areas on the coasts and the less populated areas in the middle of the country. Analysis in the Washington Post finds GOP voters were more rural, older, less diverse, and less educated than in places where Democrats tended to hold their own.

Exit polls showed steep declines in white, non-college-educated Democrat voters, but there is good news for Dems as well. Minority voters and the more educated Obama supporters remain loyal, and 54% of the largest counties voted Democrat in 2010, up from 49% in 1994. The GOP picked up only one seat in the Pacific West, down from 10 seats in 1994. Read the full article. (More midterm elections stories.)