Here are the best features of each state, according to their delegates
From the very boring, to the very weird, to the very wrong
By Philip Bump
A high point of every convention is the moment that everything becomes official. All of those delegates won in each state’s primary get to cast their vote for the candidate they represent — with the total at some point passing a majority, at which point the candidate goes from “presumptive nominee” to “nominee.”
As part of the process, a representative from each state addresses the entire delegate body, outlining how the delegates vote. In doing so, the often-hammy presenters like to work in a little bragging about their home states. Idaho, for example, presented itself as having “famous potatoes.” Had you heard?
Here are all the brags that were offered for each state at the Republican and Democratic conventions:
Alabama
R: National champions in college football, Alabama and Auburn
R: Home of the Saturn V rocket
R: Big Trump rallies
D: Champions not only in football but civil rights and voting rights
D: Champions for equal pay
Alaska
R: Largest state
R: More coastline
R: Energy, the Arctic, fishing, tourism
D: On the front line of climate change with receding glaciers and rising oceans
D: Most diverse native population in the United States with 229 federally recognized tribes
D: Makes the United States an Arctic nation
American Samoa
R: Southern-most reaches of American soil
R: Greatest exporter of NFL players
D: Where per capita more sons and daughters wear the uniform of the armed services
D: Cleanest air, year after year
D: Last place for the sun to set, day after day
Arizona
R: Hottest state … for job growth
D: Beautiful state, natural state
D: Home state of Cesar Chavez
D: Home state of many native tribes
D: Home state of women elected leaders
Arkansas
R: Birthplace of Johnny Cash and Al Green
R: Control every level of state government and all the House seats
R: Best duck-hunting on Earth
R: Most rice production
D: Where we first learned to believe in a place called Hope
D: Equally proud to be home to poet laureate Maya Angelou and civil rights leader Daisy Gatson Bates
D: Where first lady Hillary Clinton led fights before they were popular
California
R: [The speaker talked mostly about her sons.]
D: Lots of energy, lots of enthusiasm
D: Defies Donald Trump on climate change, immigration reform and the minimum wage
Colorado
R: Where the plains meet the Rocky Mountains
R: Home of Sen. Cory Gardner and the World Champion Denver Broncos
D: Home of the Rocky Mountains, Mesa Verde and the Colorado Sand Dunes
D: Protect national parks every day
Connecticut
R: Manufacture Pez, nuclear submarines
R: Home of the WWE, where the men are men and the women are champions
D: Constitution State
D: A progressive and aggressive delegation in Congress
D: College home of former and next president
D: Home of pizza and hamburgers
Delaware
R: First state to ratify the Constitution
R: Home of former governors Pete DuPont and Mike Castle
R: Diverse slate of millennial candidates to take control of the state senate
D: Home of Joe Biden
D: State with a unanimous Democratic congressional delegation
D: Home of tax-free shopping
D: Home of Dover Air Force Base
D: Kevlar, Nylon, Gore-Tex
D: Sports stars and George Thorogood
D: First state to ratify the constitution ( The guy from Delaware, who is of course running for office, went on and on, so we truncated it.)
D.C.
R: Helped create the Republican National Committee
R: Created by George Washington
R: Home of Frederick Douglass
D: Best city in the world
D: Soon to be 51st state of the union
Florida
R: Home to Disneyworld, the Daytona 500 and the Keys
R: No income tax
R: Miles of beaches and home to veterans whom they thank every day
R: Gave Lebron James his first two championships
D: Sunshine state
D: Home of Bill Nelson
D: Went blue for President Obama
D: Will do so for Clinton
Georgia
R: Number one state for business and business growth
D: The epicenter of civil and human rights
D: Home to Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King
D: March for civil rights is carried on by those like Rep. John Lewis
D: Home to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
D: Shifting Deep South state to blue
Guam
R: The tip of the spear of American might
R: Home of various attack aircraft and submarines that keep our enemies at bay
R: Where Asian tourists come to get a taste of America
R: Where America’s day begins (because of the International Date Line)
D: Remarkably diverse community
D: Homeland of the Chamorro people
D: Traveled 8,000 miles and through nine time zones to get there
Hawaii
R: [named various cities]
D: Prettiest state in the world
D: Home state of Barack Obama
D: Place that has proved you can go to 100 percent in on clean energy
Idaho
R: Famous potatoes
R: Most Republican state in the nation
R: When they say the Pledge, it’s to the “Republicans for which it stands”
R: All statewide offices, congressional delegation and 80 percent of legislature are Republican
D: Gem state
D: The most mountain peaks of any state in the Lower 48
D: Deepest gorge in North America
D: Longest undammed river
Illinois
R: The finest governor in the nation
D: Home of Barack Obama
D: Home of Sen. Richard J. Durbin and Rep. Tammy Duckworth
Indiana
R: $2 billion surplus
R: 150,000 new private sector jobs since 2013
R: More Indianans* working today than at any point in history (* He used some other word to refer to the Indianans.)
D: Turned blue in 2008 for the first time since 1964
D: Helped elect Obama as the first black president
D: Other politicians
D: 200th anniversary of the state
Iowa
R: Home of the two hardest-working senators
R: Longest serving governor in American history
D: First state university to accept women
D: First woman to pass the bar
Kansas
R: Greatest fans of the reigning world champions, the Royals
R: Home of the iconic Bob Dole
D: Birthplace of Obama’s mother
D: Home to rich history of Democratic activism
D: Home state of Brown v. Board of Education
D: Home to the Jayhawks, Wildcats and Shockers
Kentucky
R: Home of Churchill Downs
R: Source of bluegrass music
R: Home of Bill Monroe
R: Home of car manufacturers, including the Corvette
R: All the bourbon fit to drink
D: Bluegrass, rolling hills and the Appalachian Mountains
D: Muhammad Ali
D: Kentucky Derby
D: Kentucky bourbon
Louisiana
R: Sportsman’s paradise
D: Not defined by natural disaster or acts of violence
D: Melting pot of beautiful cultures
D: We like Mardi Gras
Maine
R: Rugged coastlines, beautiful forests, pristine lakes
R: Home of Paul LePage, Susan Collins and others
R: Only one remaining Democratic federal official
R: Began the Republican revival in the Northeast and will make New England great again
D: Rugged independence
D: Work ethic
D: Deep forests
D: Loggers, lobstermen
D: L.L. Bean
D: Stephen King
Maryland
R: America in miniature
R: Home of the Chesapeake Bay
R: Oldest state capitol in the United States
R: Birthplace of the national anthem
R: Home of the Naval Academy
R: Home to the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles
D: Birthplace of Thurgood Marshall
D: Home of Francis Scott Key
D: Home of the Naval Academy
D: Home of the Chesapeake Bay
D: Home of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
Massachusetts
R: Outperformed every other state but one to make America Great Again
R: The bluest state in the union (this was not said in a bragging way)
D: Where colonists dumped tea in Boston Harbor
D: First in public education, universal health care and equal marriage rights
D: Fighting for liberty since 1775
Michigan
R: Great Lakes state
R: Birthplace of the Republican Party
R: Home of Gerald Ford and Gordie Howe
D: Great Lakes state
D: Make things and grow things for America
D: Created the middle class
Minnesota
R: Home of 10,000 lakes
R: Home of Spam
R: Home of the late, great Prince
R: Longest drought of casting its electoral votes for a Republican president (thanks to 1984)
D: State of Prince’s “Purple Rain”
D: Birthplace of Tim Kaine
D: Home to the state’s governor (!)
D: Home of Walter Mondale, who picked a woman as his VP running mate
D: Home of Hubert Humphrey, who took a 1948 stand against segregation
Mississippi
R: Birthplace of America’s music
D: Home of the blues
D: B.B. King and Elvis Presley
D: Home of Fannie Lou Hamer
Missouri
R: Home to the World Series champion Royals
R: And: the 11-time champion St. Louis Cardinals
R: Birthplace of talk radio
R: Home of a 12-time delegate conservative icon
R: Birthplace of ragtime music
D: Show Me State
D: Home of Harry Truman
D: Home of Tim Kaine’s alma mater
D: Where World Series champions hang out
Montana
R: State has: Quiet beauty, grandeur of mountains, vastness of rolling plains
D: Big Sky country
D: Home of the only farmer in the Senate
D: Home of their governor, too (!)
D: Sent the first woman to Congress
Nebraska
R: Home of Silicon Prairie News
R: Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers
R: Number one beef-producing state
D: Home to 2 million people
D: A state where they split electoral votes
Nevada
R: Where blue lives matter
R: Battle-born
R: Became a state under the first Republican president in 1864
R: Home to Lake Tahoe and the most entertaining capital city, Las Vegas (Speaker presumably meant it had the entertainment capital)
D: Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas Boulevard (a.k.a. the Las Vegas Strip)
D: A population as diverse as its landscape
D: Spirit as wild and free as our mustangs
D: Battle-born state (This is about where we stopped listing politicians. But we will point out that one speaker noted that the capital was Carson City — an apparent dig at the misstatement from the Republican delegate who accidentally called Las Vegas the capital.)
New Hampshire
R: Live Free or Die state
R: No sales or income tax
R: Gave Trump his first victory (The speaker, by the way, was the man who helped provide that victory: Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.)
D: Where Clinton endorsed Obama
D: Where Sanders endorsed Clinton
New Jersey
R: Garden State
R: Greatest state in the union
R: Highest popular vote percentage for Trump
D: Garden State
D: Only state in union with two great senators
D: Started the revolution
New Mexico
R: A culture that is so diverse
R: Land of enchantment
R: First female Hispanic governor
D: Two national labs
D: Proud of veterans, including the Codetalkers
D: Land of Enchantment
D: Home to 23 Indian tribes
D: Home to the Rio Grande
D: State question is red or green chile
D: Where “Breaking Bad” was filmed
New York
R: First majority for Trump in the county
R: 61 of 62 counties went for Trump
D: Empire State
D: Birthplace of women’s rights at Seneca Falls
D: Enacted progressive legislation
D: Proud supporter of Puerto Rico
D: Home of the Clintons
North Carolina
R: Land of the long-leaf pine, where the summer sun doth shine, where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great
R: Largest military installations in the world
R: Beautiful Appalachian Mountains to the west and a crystal coast on east
R: Fastest growing state economy under Republican leadership
D: Tar Heel State
D: Land of great basketball and delicious barbecue
D: World-class higher education and home of Fort Bragg
North Dakota
R: Home of the current and five-consecutive national FCS football champion
R: Home of the national hockey champion, University of North Dakota
R: Only state in the U.S. to grow younger
D: Home to five tribal nations
D: Birthplace of the Nonpartisan League Movement
Northern Mariana Islands
R: Most Republican territory
R: Weather is 85 degrees all year around
D: First time casting votes
D: Youngest member of the American family
Ohio
R: Cleveland is city of champions
R: Mother of presidents
D: Heart of it all
D: Home of the world champion Cavaliers
D: Home of the man that helped undo bans on same-sex marriage
Oklahoma
R: Second home to Speaker Ryan
R: Heartland of America
R: Reddest state in the union
R: History of grass-roots leadership
R: Super-majorities in both chambers
R: Supplies energy and agriculture to fuel and feed the country and the world (in that order)
D: Home to 38 tribal nations
D: Motto is “labor vincit omnia”
Oregon
R: Unrivaled natural beauty
R: Great American pinot noir
R: Tillamook cheese
R: Hazelnuts
R: The reigning major league soccer champions
R: Home of Tracktown, USA — where Nike made Ducks and Beavers cool
D: Mighty Columbia River and the Rogue River
D: Home of the Timbers and the Trail Blazers
D: Home to nine tribal nations
Pennsylvania
R: Keystone State
R: Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins
R: Home of Pat Toomey and 13 Republican congressman
D: [nothing but a “welcome to our state”]
Puerto Rico
R: Voted to be 51st state of greatest nation on Earth
D: Only all-Latino delegation
D: Birthplace of Sonia Sotomayor
D: Home to Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez
Rhode Island
R: Founded in 1631 based on religious toleration and democracy
R: Ocean state, and it’s beautiful there
R: Government doesn’t work there because it’s run by corrupt Democrats
R: Ranked 50th-worst on business-friendly climate
R: Largest margin of victory with the most votes cast in a Republican primary
D: Home of outstanding beaches and coastline
D: Great companies like CVS, Hasbro and GE
D: Smallest state in the union, but biggest hearts
D: Best restaurants in the country
South Carolina
R: Palmetto State
R: Home of the First in South Primary
R: The true Peach State and home of barbecue
R: Home of the reining golf champion and college baseball champion
R: Home of the no. 1 city in the world, Charleston
R: Home of America’s vacation destination, Myrtle
R: Southeast’s manufacturing leader
D: Palmetto State
D: Home of the First in the South primary
D: Rich history of progressive struggle
D: Home of a place known as African American Ellis Island
D: Home of first black House member and now highest ranking black House member
D: Home of Emanuel AME church
South Dakota
R: Home of Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore and other great faces and great places
D: Land of Mount Rushmore
D: Land that brought us George McGovern and the diverse 1972 Democratic convention
Tennessee
R: The state with no state income tax, a budget surplus and a balanced budget
R: Top five in jobs growth
R: Number one in auto manufacturing
R: Lots of Republicans at the state and federal level
R: Pro-life state
D: Perfect 36
D: State that ratified the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote
Texas
R: Greatest job-creating state in the country
R: 12th-largest economy on the planet
R: No Democrat has won statewide office since 1992
R: Every Texan has the back of our law enforcement officers
D: Lone Star State
D: Home to giants like LBJ, Barbara Jordan and Ann Richards
D: Where Clinton worked with Bill to register Latino voters
U.S. Virgin Islands
R: One of five territories where residents are second-class citizens
R: Home of Alexander Hamilton and Tim Duncan
R: Where slaves were liberated first
R: Where no passport is needed to visit other nearby islands
D: America’s Caribbean
D: Birthplace of the first secretary of the Treasury
D: Home of Tim Duncan
D: 100th anniversary of being part of the United States
Utah
R: Has our priorities straight: God, family and country
R: Number one state for economic growth and job creation
R: The most reliable Republican state
R: Trump will get the highest-percentage vote
D: Industrious and beautiful Beehive State
D: Adventure’s first stop
D: Home to five national parks
D: The greatest snow on Earth
D: No. 1 state for volunteerism
Vermont
R: Cal Coolidge was a Vermonter, nominated in Cleveland in 1924
D: Helped fight and win the revolution
D: Helped fight and win the 2016 political revolution
D: Leaders denounce Joseph McCarthy and the modern McCarthy, Donald Trump
Virginia
R: Mother of presidents
R: Cradle of freedom
R: Where liberty sprouted from the roots of gemstone
R: Where patriots’ dreams came true
R: Commonwealth of opportunity
D: Where it all began in 1607 at Jamestown
D: Birthplace of eight presidents and a lot of Founding Fathers
D: Home to the largest naval base in the world
D: Ten percent of population are veterans and they love them
D: Home of the next vice president
Washington
R: Evergreen state
R: Volcanoes, the Columbia River, vast wheat fields and often the national Christmas tree
R: Proud home of Boeing, 100 years old this month
R: Named after the first president
D: Proud to be Democrats and their values
D: Evergreen state
D: Home of 29 federally recognized tribes
West Virginia
R: Coal mining state which has paid a heavy price under the Obama administration
R: First state in the United States to recognize Melania Trump as the next First Lady
R: Home to greatest golfer in history, Sam Sneed
R: Home to greatest football player, Sam Huff
R: Home to the Mountaineers and the Thundering Herd
D: Almost Heaven
D: Most compassionate people in the world
D: Proud to put people first
Wisconsin
R: Home to RNC chairman Reince Priebus and Speaker Paul Ryan
R: Birthplace of the Republican Party
R: Home to the 13-time world champion Green Bay Packers
R: Home to Harley-Davidson
D: Badger State
D: 11 sovereign tribes
D: Workers still make things, including paper and beer
D: Home to the Bucks, Brewers and the Packers
Wyoming
R: Home of Reagan conservatives, rugged individualism, giant Tetons
R: Producers of low-sulfur coal and an energy titan
R: A super red state with a balanced budget, a surplus and no income tax
D: First national park
D: First national monument
D: First state to give women the right to vote
D: First state with a woman governor
And now, no one gets to say what the best part of their state is for the next four years.
