One of the defining characteristics of Barack Obama's victory was its breadth. As the chart below shows, he improved on John Kerry's share of the vote not only in 18 of the 19 states that Kerry won in 2004, but also in 25 of the 31 states that voted for President Bush last time. (Obama also improved on Kerry's margin in Washington, D.C.)

Results so far show Obama carrying nine states that Bush won in 2004, including seven that voted for Bush both times. Final results are still pending in another state Bush carried twice -- Missouri (where Republican John McCain currently maintains the advantage). But regardless of how Missouri finally tilts, the 2008 results show Obama expanding dramatically beyond the Democrats' recent geographic base and reaching deep into territory that had been considered reliably Republican in the 50-50 red-blue divide that had defined American politics since the mid-1990s.