Live stream of Dem Convention.

[Tiberius]

No actually there is not a difference, it does you no good to win national elections or congressional elections if your state is run by a majority you cant break the gridlock with. While there is some separation between state and federal, you still have state and federal having to work with each other. Our 36 year decline is a result of the GOP winning, most of the time on average, more Govornorships, more state majorities, which in turn has allowed them to draw the voting districts at a far higher rate. 

Progressives outside of the office of President, have sucked at long term local and state levels especially in midterms. We cant simply praise or condemn either Bernie or Hillary, neither can change things at a bold scale, if we don't put pressure on not only the president, but congress, and state Govornorships and state congresses as well as the local level. 

If we want Bernie's change, then it is more important to put Hillary in who would be much easier to move back to the left as compared to Trump, who would have a big enough majority to cause some very serious damage and turn back the clock. But even with putting her in, that alone is not enough, we still need to put a congress there that can push her back to the left as well as a congress she can work with without the obstruction, but that also applies to states too.

I meant there is usually a difference in the way people vote when it comes to national and state / local elections. People view the national elections are more important (however incorrect that view may be), and so the national result is often the more accurate one when determining the political majority of a state / area.

Minimalist was pointing to the fact that Massachusetts have a Republican governor and trying to infer that the state might not be a Democratic stronghold. My point is, a state's choice of governor doesn't necessarily mean the state will vote for the same party nationally.

Compare this map of Governors' parties: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unite...rs_map.svg to this map of how the states voted in the 2012 election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states...ge2012.svg

There are plenty of states which vote against their governor's party. Just look at Massachusetts, Maine, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio (Republican governors, voted Obama), and conversely, Montana, Missouri, Louisiana, West Virginia (Democratic governor, voted Romney).