In how many states do the Republicans have a 10-election presidential winning streak?

a) 5

b) 7

c) 11

d) 15

Answer: c) The 1964 national landslide victory of President Lyndon B. Johnson over Republican Barry Goldwater was the last time that 11 states went Democratic for president. Those states are Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. These states bring a combined total of 63 electoral votes into this year’s contest.

Most of these states are overwhelming Republican strongholds that presumed GOP nominee John McCain is virtually certain to carry over Democrat Barack Obama in November.

One exception is Virginia, which also happens to have the most electoral votes — 13 — of any single state in this group. While McCain appears to have an edge there, Obama is gearing up for a serious challenge, encouraged by major recent Democratic successes that included wins by Mark Warner in 2001 and Tim Kaine in 2005 for governor; Democrat Jim Webb’s defeat of Republican Sen. George Allen in 2006; and the party’s takeover of the state Senate in the 2007 elections.