A federal government presiding over perilously divided regions should be cautious.

After any major election cycle there are multiple legitimate storylines. This time, there’s the red expansion in the Senate. There are the continued counts in Arizona and (especially) Florida that may slice into the GOP Senate majority. There’s also the blue surge in the House, the governor’s mansions, and the state houses — proof that the Democratic party is bouncing back from its 100-year electoral low point.

But there’s something else happening. American states are cleaving along partisan and regional lines, creating culturally distinct zones of total partisan control.