U.S. Deer Collision Map Curiously Similar to Red State, Blue State Divide

West Virginia leads the nation in something. And, no, we're not talking about obesity or smoking or party schools. West Virginia is the most likely place in America for motorists to crash into deer! 

According to State Farm insurance claims and statistics from the Federal Highway Administration, drivers in the Mountain State have a 1 in 40 chance of mowing down Bambi this year.

And as fascinating as that is, what's perhaps most interesting is how closely the map of the states with the greatest likelihood of deer-vehicle collisions resembles the nation's political divide.

Observe:

Below are the red and blue state results from the 2008 election.


And here is the map indicating states with the greatest odds for deer-vehicle collisions:

No, it's not perfect, mind you. But delete the liberal states of the Upper Midwest from those with good odds for deer-vehicle accidents and add to that list Texas, Alaska, Arizona and Louisiana and -- bingo! -- you got yourself a pretty close representation of how the Democratic/Republican vote shook out in 2008.

But which party (based on deer collisions) is trending upward, allowing them to win the White House this year? For that we turn to the numbers.