The following article builds its findings on two particular pillars.

The first is the results of the last presidential election and the map it produced. States are grouped according to the way they voted in November 2020, regardless of previous loyalties. So Arizona, which has often “gone red” in the past, is listed as a blue state because of its tip of the hat to Biden four years ago. Likewise, Florida, which has swung in both directions in recent history, is rated red because of Trump's endorsement last time.

The second factor is our own data. Earlier this year Telegraph trips ran a feature that listed all 50 American states as travel destinations in order of size.

These rankings were based on a wealth of relevant statistics, with each state awarded points for factors as diverse as the number of its national parks, the length of its coastline, its range of luxury hotels, the warmth of its weather, the vibrancy of its wine industry, the strength of its sports teams and population density (see below for a full explanation of the metrics used). These numbers were used again here to determine the top 10 states on both sides of the “red-blue wall” – and then compare these “rivals” accordingly.

Which side triumphs? As with the actual election, the result is (probably) close…