With the voting in mid-term elections of the US Congress and Senate being counted, we notice a shift in the language of the commentators. Whereas in previous elections of the Houses it was common to use the term “swing states” for a federal state that changed its majority from Democrats (blue) to Republicans (red), the 2026-11-3 elections referred to “flipped states”. What’s the significance of this? The metaphor of a “swing” assumes a kind of alternation of back and forth movements, which can be associated with a state changing political colors from election to the other. The metaphor of the “flip” might be associated more with the “flip side” of a piece of paper or a record. You might prefer the titles on one side more than the others. In the 2026-11-3 elections Democrats managed to turn long-standing Republic states (Kansas, Ohio) to vote for Democrats. They managed to captured dissatisfied or betrayed former Republican voters and thereby flipped states that have long traditions to vote Republican. Actually, these flipped states were turned into swing states which they have not been for many decades as the swing had been blocked on the Republican’s side.
