West Coast

From Usgs

Revision as of 06:44, 11 February 2008

The Superregion of the West Coast the most populous in the nation, due mainly to the fact that it includes the state of California. Six of the 30 most populous urban centers in the nation lie entirely within the West Coast; by far, the most of any superregion. (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Sacramento, San Diego, and Portland). Despite this high level of urbanization, however, the West Coast is also a major rural powerhouse, representing a significant fraction of America's agricultural output.

The West Coast is named in a purely geographic sense; of the five states which border on the Pacific Ocean, four of them make up this superregion. The fifth, Alaska, is located in Big Sky Country instead.

Adjacent Superregions

• West: Big Sky Country and Sunbelt
• North: Canada
• South: Mexico

Politics

The West Coast is a Democratic Stronghold, with Democrats holding an overall 54-46 registration advantage. The advantage is about equal in both regions of the West Coast, but the Pacific Coast region has greater variance, with Hawaii giving Democrats a nearly 2-1 advantage (63-37), Washington a more modest 54-46 advantage, and Oregon actually leaning slightly Republican with the GOP holding a slim 52-48 advantage.

Because of the blue tilt of the superregion and its constituent regions, it is relatively rare for Republicans to enjoy success here. However, both California and the Pacific Coast do contain enough independents to swing red, given the right candidate and right conditions.

Election 2008

Highlights: Jeremy Koo (D-CA) elected Governor. Sam Russell (D-CA) and Jeffrey Landon (D-WA) elected to the Senate

Election 2010

Highlights: Governor Jeremy Koo re-elected. Senator Lilliam Vanleer (D-WA) re-elected. Senator Elizabeth Rosenbaum (D-CA) re-elected to fill the remaining two years in her predecessor's term.

Election 2012

Highlights: Senator Rosenbaum re-elected to a full term.

Election 2014

Highlights: Senator Lilliam Vanleer (D-WA) elected Governor, after Governor Koo declined to run for re-election.

Special Election 2016

Highlights: Representative David Cromartie (D-CA) elected Governor, to fill the vacancy in the Governor's mansion.

Election 2018

Highlights: Senator Hyssop Clematis (D-CA) reelected for a full term. Representative Alexander Hughes (R-CA) elected Governor for a full term.

Office Holders

Note: The Governor information is not complete: Missing Legislative Leaders, Legislative Breakdowns, and Lieutenant Governor names.

Footnotes

• ¹ Elected in special election to fill remainder of Governor Vanleer's term
• ² Appointed after Senator Vanleer was elected Governor.
• ³ Resigned from office.
• ^A Appointed to the remainder of a predecessor's term
• ^X Elected to fill a vacancy for the remainder of a predecessor's term.

Notable Metropolitan Areas

The following table is based on the US Census definitions of Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs), Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (�¼SAs) of the United States. As such, the urban areas often combine multiple "cities", including many not specifically listed in the table.