Continuously declining vote shares

From 2000 to 2016, the Democratic vote share declined continuously for five straight elections in four states:

Tennessee
Bill Clinton, 1996: 48.00%
Al Gore, 2000: 47.28%
John Kerry, 2004: 42.53%
Barack Obama, 2008: 41.83%
Barack Obama, 2012: 39.08%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 34.72%

Oklahoma
Bill Clinton, 1996: 40.45%
Al Gore, 2000: 38.43%
John Kerry, 2004: 34.43%
Barack Obama, 2008: 34.35%
Barack Obama, 2012: 33.23%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 28.93%

Arkansas
Bill Clinton, 1996: 53.74%
Al Gore, 2000: 45.86%
John Kerry, 2004: 44.55%
Barack Obama, 2008: 38.86%
Barack Obama, 2012: 36.88%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 33.65%

West Virginia
Bill Clinton, 1996: 51.51%
Al Gore, 2000: 45.59%
John Kerry, 2004: 43.20%
Barack Obama, 2008: 42.59%
Barack Obama, 2012: 35.54%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 26.43%

Currently, the longest such streak is the Republican vote share in Maryland, which has been on the decline for four elections in a row:

Maryland
George W. Bush, 2004: 42.93%
John McCain, 2008: 36.47%
Mitt Romney, 2012: 35.90%
Donald Trump, 2016: 33.91%
Donald Trump, 2020: 32.15%

I was left wondering what the longest such streaks were, and how common they were.

In 30 states, no major party has ever declined five or more elections in a row.

Kansas (8)
Abraham Lincoln, 1864: 79.19%
Ulysses Grant, 1868: 68.82%
Ulysses Grant, 1872: 66.46%
Rutherford Hayes, 1876: 63.10%
James Garfield, 1880: 60.40%
James Blaine, 1884: 58.08%
Benjamin Harrison, 1888: 55.23%
Benjamin Harrison, 1892: 48.40%
William McKinley, 1896: 47.63%

Arkansas (7)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1932: 85.96%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 81.80%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 79.02%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 69.95%
Harry Truman, 1948: 61.72%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 55.90%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 52.46%
John Kennedy, 1960: 50.19%

Texas (6)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1932: 88.06%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 87.08%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 80.92%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 71.42%
Harry Truman, 1948: 65.96%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 46.69%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 43.98%

Georgia (5)
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 69.66%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 66.48%
John Kennedy, 1960: 62.54%
Lyndon Johnson, 1964: 45.87%
Hubert Humphrey, 1968: 26.75%
George McGovern, 1972: 24.65%

Arizona (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 69.85%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 63.49%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 58.80%
Harry Truman, 1948: 53.79%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 41.65%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 38.90%

Connecticut (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 55.32%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 53.44%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 52.30%
Harry Truman, 1948: 47.91%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 43.91%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 36.26%

Florida (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 76.10%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 74.01%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 70.32%
Harry Truman, 1948: 48.82%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 44.97%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 42.73% 

Maryland (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 62.35%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 58.25%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 51.85%
Harry Truman, 1948: 48.01%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 43.83%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 39.96%

New Jersey (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 59.54%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 51.48%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 50.31%
Harry Truman, 1948: 45.93%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 41.99%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 34.23%

Ohio (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 57.99%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 52.20%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 49.82%
Harry Truman, 1948: 49.48%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 43.24%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 38.89%

Pennsylvania (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 56.88%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 53.23%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 51.14%
Harry Truman, 1948: 46.92%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 46.85%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 43.30% 

Utah (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 69.34%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 62.25%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 60.44%
Harry Truman, 1948: 53.98%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 41.07%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 35.44% 

Virginia (5)
Franklin Roosevelt, 1936: 70.23%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1940: 68.08%
Franklin Roosevelt, 1944: 62.36%
Harry Truman, 1948: 47.89%
Adlai Stevenson, 1952: 43.36%
Adlai Stevenson, 1956: 38.36%

New Hampshire (5)
Warren Harding, 1920: 59.84%
Calvin Coolidge, 1924: 59.83%
Herbert Hoover, 1928: 58.65%
Herbert Hoover, 1932: 50.42%
Alf Landon, 1936: 47.98%
Wendell Willkie, 1940: 46.78%

Louisiana (5)
James Blaine, 1884: 42.37%
Benjamin Harrison, 1888: 26.46%
Benjamin Harrison, 1892: 23.47%
William McKinley, 1896: 21.81%
William McKinley, 1900: 20.96%
Theodore Roosevelt, 1904: 9.66%

Iowa (5)
Grover Cleveland, 1884: 47.01%
Grover Cleveland, 1888: 44.51%
Grover Cleveland, 1892: 44.31%
William Jennings Bryan, 1896: 42.90%
William Jennings Bryan, 1900: 39.46%
Alton Parker, 1904: 30.71%

Kentucky (5)
Samuel Tilden, 1876: 61.41%
Winfield Scott Hancock, 1880: 55.74%
Grover Cleveland, 1884: 55.32%
Grover Cleveland, 1888: 53.30%
Grover Cleveland, 1892: 51.48%
William Jennings Bryan, 1896: 48.86%

Nebraska (5)
Ulysses Grant, 1872: 70.68%
Rutherford Hayes, 1876: 64.70%
James Garfield, 1880: 62.87%
James Blaine, 1884: 57.31%
Benjamin Harrison, 1888: 53.51%
Benjamin Harrison, 1892: 43.56%

Iowa (5)
Abraham Lincoln, 1864: 63.08%
Ulysses Grant, 1868: 61.92%
Ulysses Grant, 1872: 60.81%
Rutherford Hayes, 1876: 58.50%
James Garfield, 1880: 56.99%
James Blaine, 1884: 52.25%

The longest continuous decline for the Whig Party I could find was in Indiana:

Indiana (4)
William Henry Harrison, 1836: 55.97%
William Henry Harrison, 1840: 55.86%
Henry Clay, 1844: 48.42%
Zachary Taylor, 1848: 45.77%
Winfield Scott, 1852: 44.17%

If the Republican Party were treated as the successor to the Whig Party, the decline would have extended into a fifth election in 1856, when John Frémont got 40.09%.

Five-election runs of declining in a state are actually not that uncommon. There are many instances of a party declining in a state for five elections in a row, but very few of a party declining more than five elections in a row in any given state.

That said, of the 16 instances in which a party declined in a given state for precisely five elections in a row, a majority--nine--were instances of the Democratic Party declining over the five elections from 1940 through 1956. The Democratic vote share nationally also declined over those five elections. (From 2000 through 2016, the Democratic vote share went up nationally 4.66% in 2008.)

Of the 19 instances in which a party declined in a given state for five or more elections in a row, the party in question won the state in at least two of the elections in 17 (all except Louisiana for the Republicans from 1888 to 1904 and Iowa for the Democrats from 1888 to 1904). A losing nominee of the party in question won the state at least once in seven of the 19 instances. (In the 2000-2016 Democratic decline states, the Democrat carried the state in none of the elections in question.) 

Aside from the 1936/1940-1956 states, the only other states in which a party's decline over five or more elections in a row co-occurred were Iowa and Kansas from 1868 to 1884, and Nebraska and Kansas from 1876 to 1892. (And, of course, the Democratic 2000-2016 decline states.) The others--Georgia from 1956 to 1972, New Hampshire from 1924 to 1940, Louisiana from 1888 to 1904, Iowa (for the Democrats) from 1888 to 1904, and Kentucky from 1880 to 1896--were isolates. (As would Maryland be if the Republican decline extended to 2024--the other state where the Republican vote share had declined three elections in a row ahead of the 2020 election was Alaska, and there, Donald Trump did manage a 1.55% increase over his 2016 vote share.)

In none of the 2000-2016 decline states did Joe Biden manage to get back to Obama's 2012 vote share:

Tennessee
Barack Obama, 2012: 39.08%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 34.72%
Joe Biden, 2020: 37.45%

Oklahoma
Barack Obama, 2012: 33.23%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 28.93%
Joe Biden, 2020: 32.29%

Arkansas
Barack Obama, 2012: 36.88%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 33.65%
Joe Biden, 2020: 34.78%

West Virginia
Barack Obama, 2012: 35.54%
Hillary Clinton, 2016: 26.43%
Joe Biden, 2020: 29.69%

Of the cases in which a party declined in a given state for five or more elections in a row before the 21st century, the nominee who finally broke the streak of declines did better not only than the last nominee of his party, but also better than the nominee of his party from eight years prior, in every case except New Hampshire in 1944 (where Dewey got 47.87%), Louisiana in 1908 (where Taft got 11.93%), Kentucky in 1900 (where Bryan got 50.21%), Nebraska in 1896 (where McKinley got 46.18%), and Iowa in 1888 (where Harrison got 52.36%). None of these was part of a group of cases where this co-occurred simultaneously. 

After the 2020 election, the Republican vote share has declined for precisely three elections in a row in no state (as Trump managed to improve in 2016 on Romney in every state where Romney did worse than McCain, aside from Alaska and Maryland). It has declined two elections in a row (that is, Trump did worse than Romney in 2016, and then did worse in 2020 than he did in 2016) in Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia (map). Biden improved on Hillary Clinton's vote share in all fifty states.

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