purple state

Compound of purple +‎ state, modeled on blue state and red state. From purple being a blend of blue and red colors, where the color representing the Democratic Party of the United States is blue and that representing the Republican Party of the United States is red.

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purple state (plural purple states)

1. (US politics) A swing state.
   • 2023 April 27, Jim Robbins, Mike Baker, Jacey Fortin, quoting Mallerie Stromswold, “A Transgender Lawmaker Is Exiled as Montana G.O.P. Flexes New Power”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     “I have loved this purple state that I’ve grown up in,” said Mallerie Stromswold, a former Republican lawmaker who left the Legislature earlier this year after she clashed with party leaders over a series of proposed transgender bills and closed-door meetings, she said, devolved into yelling and name-calling.

• blue state
• green state
• red state
• Appendix:American Dialect Society words of the year