This is also the welfare state map: Ghettos of urban minorities, Indian reservations, and the poor black rural south.
You need to recheck which are the welfare states and which ones are not. Red states are generally on the receiving side of Federal largesse.
BINGO! A couple of us had that discussion after church this AM - how the predominant theme of the "blue" areas was urban areas with high minority populations.
What else do these areas also have in common? A high concentration of government check drawers (public tit suckers).