When did these states last go blue?
At 8 pm, ABC News projected Trump wins in Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Oklahoma hasn’t been in the Democratic column in a presidential race since 1964, while Alabama also last cast its electoral college votes for a Democrat in 1976, when Jimmy Carter (from neighboring Georgia) was the nominee.
Missouri and Tennessee both went Democratic for the last time in 1996 with Bill Clinton seeking re-election.
And Florida was a swing state until more recently, so the fact that it was called so early is a striking reminder of how times (and swing states) change. The 2000 election was decided after 36 days and an intensive recount in Florida, where George W. Bush very narrowly prevailed over Al Gore.