Years ago I looked at the political impact of what if Appalachia were its own state, & here's a 2020 update with partisan control over state govts. Dems would've gained full control in the rump PA & broken GOP trifectas in GA (governor) & SC (state Senate) dailykos.com/story/2017/1/4… 
If Appalachia were a state & its borders had been used in all Senate elections since 2010, the GOP would only hold a 51-49 majority today. Dems would be well-positioned to win a majority in November: The redrawn GA voted for Clinton & NC just barely didn't dailykos.com/story/2017/1/4…
If Appalachia were its own state, Trump would have only won the Electoral College thanks to its 26 electoral votes. Dems wouldn't even need to win AZ or WI to win the Electoral College in 2020 if they just flipped MI or redrawn NC, which Trump barely won dailykos.com/story/2017/1/4…
Obvious caveat that people can reasonably disagree over the definition of what counts as the geographic/cultural region of "Appalachia," since there's no set boundary
