According to data from Gallup, the percentage of Arkansans who identify as conservative Democrats has dropped from 15 percent six years ago to 9 percent today.

That might not sound like a huge shift, but look at it this way: In 2008, nearly half of Arkansas voters — 47 percent — identified as Democrats. That number is down to 40 percent today, and it’s because those conservative Democrats left.

A similar shift is happening in North Carolina; Gallup also recently crunched the numbers there and found a significant drop in people who identify as Democrats. In 2008, when Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) was first elected, North Carolinians identified with or leaned toward Democrats by a 49 percent-to-39 percent margin. Today, it’s just a one-point margin, 42 to 41.