> obscures the fact that red states are poorer, less educated, and score lower on most quality of life measures than blue states.

Does it obscure that fact? Maybe those facts are the underlying reason for some of the other ills.

> Given that murders occur where there are more people (cities), I don't find these findings that surprising.

This makes little sense as the places with more density are more likely to vote Democratic. Yet, this data shows us that (some) more rural states have higher murder rates.