In today’s must-read, Matt Bai tackles the perplexing question of why “Obama wins in major urban areas but can’t seem to win in urbanized states, while Clinton wins in rural communities but consistently loses in rural states.”

In other electoral map news:

Who Can Unlock the Keystone?

• Pennsylvania politics guru Terry Madonna gives his take. [Real Clear Politics]
• Catholics (think Bob Casey) are a crucial voting bloc. [Wall Street Journal]
• Beyond Pennsylvania: The Clintons target the Hoosier State. [First Read]

General Landscape

• The case for eliminating caucuses from the presidential nominating process. [Politico]
• House Republicans have few pick-off opportunities. [CQ Politics]
• Dan Balz‘ take on the critical white male vote. [Washington Post]

Maps and More Maps

• Historical map of the day: Cotton growth by county during Reconstruction [National Geographic]
• Google Maps’ interactive state-by-state electoral map. [Google Maps]

The Google Map Application [Google Maps]