Go With the Flow

The White House has flipped partisan control four times across the nine presidential elections since Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980. Only two states have consistently followed the partisan ebb and flow of the U.S. electorate during this three-plus decade stretch by voting for the winning candidate in each cycle: Ohio (tallying 13 in a row dating back to 1964) and Nevada (nine straight since 1980). Only four other states have backed the winning candidate in the last three consecutive cycles:  Florida (five in a row since 1996), Virginia (four since 2000), Iowa (three since 2004), and New Mexico (three since 2004). Since the modern two-party system began in 1828, states have tallied at least 10 consecutive elections voting for the winning presidential candidate a total of 24 times led by Nevada and New Mexico at 16 (1912-1972).