The writer misses the point. Each of these states has large blue urban concentrations which elect the governors for all intents and purposes. If one looks at the county by county vote, this is crystal clear. Red states dominated by dark blue urban blots. Cities are cities, mostly, no different in the Midwest than on the coastal crusts. Justifies the perception of Thomas Jefferson that cities are havens of vice and corruption.
Urban centers have, historically, been the most prone to election fraud and corrupt political machines.