For all the grief I take for being from Massachusetts, there is a strong base of Republicans up here. Most of my co-workers voted for Bush in 2000 and detest the liberals on Beacon Hill and our two senators (Kennedy and Kerry). We haven't had a Democratic governor since 1990 (Dukakis) and just last November, Republican Mitt Romney trounced the liberal candidate for governor (Shannon O'Brien). It wasn't even a close contest.
I think we get a bad rap up here. Yes, it is frustrating to see Democrats elected again and again at the local levels, but the GOP has no real organization here. They always write off our state and pour their resources elsewhere. Many of the Democrats run completely unopposed. It really bothers me.
Meanwhile, I go down to Alabama frequently (where most of my family lives) and they are mostly all Democrats. Go figure.
Most democrats in Alabama that I know have voted for Bush and Riley, (although they are not so sure about Riley now.) Bush will have Alabama and the rest of the South in 2004.