That's what any demographic shift does. Wealthy republicans carpetbag on occasion too, though not as often. The problems of red states can largely be overcome with personal wealth, so they tend to stay where they're politically comfortable.
Another thing is that blue-staters tend to have more buying power than red-staters, so they get butthurt about being priced out of real estate instead of realizing that their relative poverty is the direct consequence of republican policy. 20 states still have a $7.25 minimum wage, guess which ones.
The injury was to the ego and authority - of the entire apparatus, not one man. They're all anxious to bring retribution and remind everyone that the enforcer class is above them and demands your cowering deference.