The Democratic and Republican national conventions may be about the future of the country as a whole, but for a long stretch every four years, they’re also a platform for some good, old-fashioned, downright parochial chest-beating. During Tuesday’s roll calls, delegations took their turns to throw their support to the presidential candidates. But most of them also used their few seconds as a chance to boast, in some way, about the greatness of their state, territory, or district.
Last week, Slate brought you our definitive ranking of roll-call brags by GOP delegates to the RNC in Cleveland. (Connecticut, proud home of Pez and WWE, won.) While observing the Democrats’ own colorful brags (New Mexico boldly identified itself as the setting of Breaking Bad, the AMC drama starring Bryan Cranston as a washed-up high school chemistry teacher turned meth dealer), we wondered: What attributes do state delegations find most brag-worthy?
Below is our official tally of the most frequently mentioned traits state delegations boasted about at both conventions, ranked from most-bragged to least-bragged and color-coded to show partisan affiliation. Our methodology was pretty simple: It chiefly involved counting, and states that doubled down on a brag—say, mentioning multiple Democratic legislators or crowing over several champion sports teams—still only earned themselves one point in our ranking. (We also just stuck to states. Sorry territories and the District of Columbia!)
You can read a lot into the results about America’s perceived strengths, priorities, and goals. Republicans touted conservative values, pride in law-enforcement officials, and lower taxes. Democrats, meanwhile, praised their states’ diversity, history of civil rights, and Native American tribes. Republicans brought up jobs and businesses twice as much as Democrats did while Democrats showed more love for military vets and women. Democrats also boasted of being Democrats slightly more than Republicans feted their own partisan credentials, with 21 different delegations in Philadelphia bragging about the blueness of their state houses, governors’ mansions, or members of Congress compared with 20 of their Cleveland counterparts. Republicans seemed to express more vocal pride in their eventual nominee, with positive mentions of Donald Trump narrowly edging out shoutouts to Hillary Clinton, possibly reflecting lingering divisions within the Democratic party after a bitter primary. Barack Obama, by contrast, tied Trump with seven name-checks each.
Alabama RNC: Sports, Trump DNC: Sports, Civil rights Alaska RNC: Terrain, Energy, Fishing/Hunting/Farming DNC: Weather, Native Americans Arizona RNC: Weather, Jobs DNC: Terrain, Jobs, Native Americans, Women Arkansas RNC: Music, Jobs, Industry/Business, Republicans, Fishing/Hunting/Farming DNC: Civil Rights, Hillary Clinton California RNC: Trump DNC: Energy, Anti-Trump Colorado RNC: Sports, Terrain DNC: Terrain Connecticut RNC: Foodstuffs, Industry/Business, Sports DNC: Foodstuffs, Constitution, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama Delaware RNC: Republicans, Veterans, Constitution DNC: Veterans, Terrain, Industry/Business, Sports, Music, Constitution, No/Low Taxes Florida RNC: Sports, Terrain, Veterans, Weather, No/Low Taxes DNC: Weather, Democrats, Obama, Hillary Clinton Georgia RNC: Business/Industry DNC: Civil rights, History, Diversity, Democrats Hawaii RNC: Aloha DNC: Barack Obama, Energy Idaho RNC: Republicans, Industry/Business DNC: Terrain Illinois RNC: Governor DNC: Barack Obama, Democrats Indiana RNC: Republicans, Jobs, Industry/Business DNC: Democrats, Barack Obama, Anti-Trump Iowa RNC: Republicans DNC: Women Kansas RNC: Sports, Republicans DNC: Barack Obama, Democrats, Civil rights Kentucky RNC: Sports, Music, Business/Industry, Drinkstuffs, Values, Constitution, Veterans, Law Enforcement DNC: Terrain, Sports, Drinkstuffs Louisiana RNC: Sports DNC: Diversity, Hunting/Fishing/Farming Maine RNC: Terrain, Values, Republicans, Loser Democrats, Jobs, No/Low Taxes DNC: Values, Fishing/Hunting/Farming, Democrats, Anti-Trump Maryland RNC: Terrain, History, Veterans, Sports DNC: Veterans, Terrain, Democrats, Women, Civil Rights Massachusetts RNC: Trump DNC: History, Values, Civil rights Michigan RNC: Republicans, History DNC: Industry/Business, Jobs Minnesota RNC: Terrain, Foodstuffs, Music, Republicans DNC: Music, Tim Kaine, Democrats, History, Civil Rights, Women Mississippi RNC: Music DNC: Music, Diversity, Civil rights Missouri RNC: Sports, Republicans DNC: History, Tim Kaine, Sports Montana RNC: Terrain, Values DNC: Terrain, Fishing/Hunting/Farming, Native Americans, Women Nebraska RNC: Foodstuffs, Values DNC: Democrats, Diversity Nevada RNC: Law Enforcement, Republicans, History, Terrain DNC: Terrain, Diversity New Hampshire RNC: Trump, No/Low Taxes DNC: Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders New Jersey RNC: Trump DNC: Democrats, Diversity, History New Mexico RNC: Diversity, Terrain DNC: Native Americans, Industry/Business, Veterans, Democrats, Diversity New York RNC: Trump DNC: Women, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Jobs North Carolina RNC: Veterans, Terrain/Nature, Industry/Business, Jobs, Republicans DNC: Sports, Veterans North Dakota RNC: Sports DNC: Native Americans Ohio RNC: Republicans DNC: Sports, Democrats, Civil rights Oklahoma RNC: Republicans, Energy, Hunting/Fishing/Farming DNC: Native Americans Oregon RNC: Terrain, Foodstuffs, Drinkstuffs, Sports, Loser Democrats, Industry/Business DNC: Terrain, Sports, Native Americans Pennsylvania RNC: Sports, Republicans DNC: Democrats Rhode Island RNC: Values, History, Terrain, Loser Democrats, Trump DNC: Terrain, Democrats, Industry/Business, Women, Foodstuffs South Carolina RNC: Terrain/Nature, Foodstuffs, Sports, Industry/Business DNC: Civil Rights, History, Democrats, Sports South Dakota RNC: Monuments DNC: Monumnets, History, Democrats, Women Tennessee RNC: Values, Jobs, Business/Industry, Republicans, No/Low Taxes DNC: Women Texas RNC: Jobs, Industry/Business, Republicans, Loser Democrats, Law Enforcement DNC: Democrats, Women, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton Utah RNC: Values, Jobs, Business/Industry, Republicans DNC: Terrain/Nature, Weather Vermont RNC: Values, History DNC: Bernie Sanders, History, Democrats, Anti-Trump Virginia RNC: Values, History DNC: History, Veterans, Tim Kaine Washington RNC: Terrain/Nature, Fishing/hunting/farming, Industry/Business, History DNC: Democrats, Native Americans, Terrain/Nature West Virginia RNC: Sports DNC: Values Wisconsin RNC: Republicans, Sports, Industry/Business DNC: Jobs, Foodstuffs, Industry/Business, Drinkstuffs, Sports Wyoming RNC: Republicans, Terrain/Nature, Energy, Industry/Business, Values, No/Low Taxes DNC: Terrain/nature, Monuments, Women
