Appalachia
From Usgs
Capital | Columbus |
Largest city | Indianapolis |
Regions | States |
Shenandoah Valley | Virginia North Carolina West Virginia |
Ohio Valley | Ohio Indiana Kentucky |
Area | Ranked ?th |
- Total | 242,475 sq mi 628,005 km² |
- % water | 5.59 |
Population | Ranked ?th |
- Total | 40,315,459 (2000 Census) |
- Density | 166.27/sq mi 64.20/km² (?th) |
Governor | EJ Hinkelschmit (D-WV) |
Lt. Governor | John McSmith IV (D-KY) |
Majority Leader | Nathaniel Hart (D-NC) |
Minority Leader | Jon Jackson (R-VA) |
U.S. Senators | |
- Shenandoah Valley | Avery Passerday (R-NC) Calum Daniels (D-VA) |
- Ohio Valley | Fred Goodman (D-OH) Alfred Hood (R-OH) |
Abbreviation | APP |
Web site | Appalachia Government |
The Superregion of Appalachia comprises of the Ohio Valley and Shenandoah Valley regions, consisting of six States. Along with Big Sky Country and Mississippi Valley, it is one of the only superregions which lacks a single-state region within it.
It was named, presumably, after the Appalachian Mountains, which approximately form the boundary between the two constituent regions.
Contents |
Geography and Demographics
Adjacent Superregions
- North: Canada (across Lake Erie)
- East and Northeast: Mid-Atlantic (and Washington D.C.)
- West and Northwest: Heartlands, and a very small boundary with Mississippi Valley
- South: Dixie
Major Cities
Rank | City | Population |
1 | Indianapolis, IN | 784,118 |
2 | Columbus, OH | 730,657 |
3 | Charlotte, NC | 610,949 |
4 | Louisville, KY | 556,429 |
5 | Cleveland, OH | 452,208 |
6 | Virginia Beach, VA | 438,415 |
7 | Raleigh, NC | 341,530 |
8 | Cincinnati, OH | 308,728 |
9 | Toledo, OH | 301,285 |
10 | Lexington, KY | 268,080 |
11 | Greensboro, NC | 231,962 |
12 | Norfolk, VA | 231,954 |
13 | Fort Wayne, IN | 223,341 |
14 | Chesapeake, VA | 218,968 |
15 | Akron, OH | 210,795 |
16 | Durham, NC | 209,009 |
17 | Fayetteville, NC | 203,000 |
18 | Chesapeake, VA | 199,184 |
19 | Richmond, VA | 197,790 |
20 | Winston-Salem, NC | 196,990 |
21 | Newport News, VA | 180,150 |
22 | High Point, NC | 168,033 |
23 | Dayton, OH | 156,771 |
24 | Hampton, VA | 146,437 |
25 | Alexandria, VA | 128,283 |
26 | Evansville, IN | 121,582 |
27 | Cary, North Carolina | 112,414 |
28 | South Bend, IN | 107,789 |
29 | Gary, IN | 102,746 |
30 | Wilmington, NC | 100,838 |
Politics
Appalachia is an overall Republican-leaning superregion, with Republicans holding an overall 3.5 point advantage in party registration over the Democrats. Nearly all of the Republican margin of comfort comes in the Ohio Valley, where Republicans hold a 6.1 point advantage; in the Shenandoah Valley, the GOP holds a miniscule 0.2 point advantage, making the Shenandoah Valley one of the most evenly divided regions in the nation. As a result, the Ohio Valley tends to be strongly Republican, the Shenandoah Valley has been a heavily contended battleground, and Appalachia as a whole leans Republican.
Office Holders
Electoral Totals in Appalachia since 2008
Year | Governor | Lt. Governor | ||||
Name | Party | State | Name | Party | State | |
2009 | Peter Vandenberg | Republican | Ohio | Caroline Andrews1 | Republican | Indiana |
2010 | Marcus Milam2 | Republican | North Carolina | |||
Vacant | ||||||
2011 | ||||||
2012 | ||||||
2013 | Whitney Mason | Democrat | North Carolina | Gabrielle Garcia | Democrat | Ohio |
2014 | Vacant | |||||
2015 | Daniel Pizzuto | Democrat | North Carolina | |||
2016 | ||||||
2017 | Tim Kent | Republican | Ohio | Christopher Bradshaw | Republican | Ohio |
2018 | ||||||
2019 | ||||||
2020 | ||||||
2021 | Peter Vandenberg | Republican | Ohio | Christopher Bradshaw | Republican | Ohio |
Senators | ||||
Year | Ohio Valley | Shenandoah Valley | ||
Class 1 | Class 3 | Class 1 | Class 2 | |
2008 | Terry Hughes (R-OH) | Vacant | James Olsen (R-VA) | Jared Daniels (D-NC) |
2009 | Tim Kent (R-OH) | |||
Richard Schneiter3 (R-NC) | ||||
2010 | Keith Carter4 (D-VA) | |||
2011 | Chris Harrison6 (D-VA) | Richard Schneiter5 (R-NC) | ||
2012 | Avery Passerday (R-NC) | |||
2013 | Calum Daniels (D-VA) | |||
2014 | ||||
2015 | ||||
2016 | Jax Jaxal (D-OH) | |||
2017 | Peter Vandenberg (R-OH) | Troy Carter8 (R-OH) | ||
2018 |
Regional Legislature
Year | Legislature | ||||
GOP | DNC | IND | Maj. Leader | Min. Leader | |
2009 | 51 | 50 | 0 | Lt. Gov | Whitney Mason |
2010 | |||||
2011 | 48 | 53 | 0 | Whitney Mason | Vacant |
2012 | |||||
2013 | 51 | 50 | 0 | Blake Emerson | Lt. Gov. |
2014 | Vacant | ||||
2015 | 49 | 50 | 2 | Lt. Governor | Clay Hamilton7 |
2016 | Dick Solomon | ||||
2017 | 48 | 51 | 2 | Kaleigh Abercrombie | Lt. Gov. |
2018 | |||||
2019 | |||||
2020 | |||||
2021 | 51 | 47 | 3 | Kaleigh Abercrombie | Lt. Gov. |
2023 | 50 | 48 | 2 | Lt. Gov Bradshaw | |
2025 | 51 | 48 | 2 | Christopher Blair, Jon Jackson | Lt. Gov |
Footnotes
- 1 Caroline Andrews was eaten by a leopard while visiting Yemen in 2009.
- 2 Marcus Milam vanished under mysterious circumstances sometime in 2010.
- 3 Richard Schneiter was appointed by Governor Vandenberg after James Olsen resigned in 2009.
- 4 Jared Daniels became a game administrator; Keith Carter was appointed by the Democratic Party to fill the remainder of Daniels' seat.
- 5 Richard Schneiter was appointed by Governor Vandenberg after Keith Carter vanished under mysterious circumstances in late 2011. Schneiter resigned in late 2012 before the election.
- 6 Chris Harrison was killed after stepping on a landmine in the DMZ in July 2012. Avery Passerday was appointed by Governor Vandenberg to the vacancy.
- 7 The office of APP Minority Leader was vacant for several months in 2015 before being filled by Clay Hamilton (R-NC). Hamilton would later resign, after rumors of a possible indictment, and was replaced by Dr. Dick Solomon (R-OH).
- 8 Troy Carter was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Governor Kent.