That always pisses me off, the MSM was behind perpetually saddling republicans with red back in the early 90’s. The color association is probably worth a fraction of a percent of vote just because of the general association of red with evil and communism...
People always try to distance themselves from the bad connotations of names and associations they have become known by and try to co-opt those with better connotations. As soon as they tarnish one name, word, color, etc., they will move on to a new one that someone else has polished.
Think about all the different names we have gone through to refer to blacks or to the mentally retarded. (Not sure what the correct PC terms are today.) There is nothing wrong with belonging to either group, but for different reasons, both have acquired negative associations.
IMO, blue is now acquiring more of a negative association with communism and “progressivism” and red is not acquiring the association with hard work, productive conservatism.
And yes, I, too, find it irritating that they grab OUR symbols that we have worked hard to make honorable and try to rub off some of the luster onto themselves. It’s like when an American-hating liberal suddenly finds it beneficial to wrap himself in the flag.