Sunday, May 10, 2020

States to watch for 2020 Presidential Election

Given there are 50 states (plus DC) consisting of some 3,143 counties, which ones are important and worth keeping an eye on for the 2020 presidential election?

I'm just going to summarize what the big three (Inside Elections, Cook Political Report, and Sabato's Crystal Ball) to determine which states are competitive. Competitive ratings include "toss up", "tilt", and "lean" ratings (in a rather convoluted terminology).

The states considered "in play" are:

  1. Arizona (Cook, IE, Sabato: Toss up)
  2. Florida (Cook, IE: Toss up; Sabato: Leans R)
  3. Georgia (Cook, IE, Sabato: Leans R)
  4. Iowa (IE, Sabato: Leans R)
  5. Maine (Cook: Lean D)
  6. Michigan (Cook: Toss Up; IE: Tilt D; Sabato: Lean D)
  7. Minnesota (Cook, IE, Sabato: Lean D)
  8. New Hampshire (Cook, IE, Sabato: Lean D)
  9. Nevada (Sabato: Lean D)
  10. North Carolina (Cook, IE, Sabato: Toss up)
  11. Ohio (Sabato: Lean R)
  12. Pennsylvania (Cook, Sabato: Toss up; IE: Tilt D)
  13. Texas (Cook: Lean R)
  14. Wisconsin (Cook, IE, Sabato: Toss up)

The eight states in bold are the eight I think are worth studying further. Of course, it's six months out, and a lot can happen in just a couple months (like a virus killing 80,011 people). In a couple months, it may turn out new states come into play, or some of these competitive states cease to be competitive, or both.

(Addendum: there are 176 ways for either candidate to win the presidency.)

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