Here’s a look at how the tradition of calling states that usually favor Republicans “red” and Democrats “blue” came about.

In U.S. politics, it’s commonplace to hear about red states and blue states.

In red states, most voters choose Republican Party candidates. In blue states, most choose Democratic Party candidates.

U.S. television networks get credit for the shades of meaning.

As color TV gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, networks started using color-coded maps to show election night results.

At first, there was no consensus on which color would represent which political party.

But during coverage of the 2000 presidential election, most networks used blue for Democratic states and red for Republican.

People then started using red state and blue state as political figures of speech.

Purple states, also called swing states, are a blend of red and blue. They’re so evenly divided, they could tip toward either party.

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