Where everything is bipartisan until it is not.
The act of voting by ballot, typically done through a written or electronic system to ensure privacy and record-keeping—democracy's way of making your opinion official without requiring you to shout it in a crowded town square.
Classification of states based on typical electoral voting patterns—shorthand for 'don't waste time campaigning here because our minds are already made up.'
A congressional district where either party could plausibly win, making it where campaigns actually spend money and politicians occasionally acknowledge regular voters.
The insular world of Washington D.C. politics and federal government, referring to the Interstate 495 loop surrounding the capital. It's where policy gets made by people who've lost touch with reality.
A fortified stronghold or an unshakeable defender of a principle—basically the last line of defense when everything else crumbles. Whether it's a physical fortress or a company's last remaining profitable division, a bastion is where things refuse to fall apart.