Clinton lost Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin by fewer people than live in all of Guam


Hillary Clinton's "blue wall" of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania crumbled to Donald Trump in the early morning hours Wednesday, and the states' combined 46 electoral college votes helped finish off Clinton's White House hopes once and for all. (Michigan's 16 electoral votes haven't yet officially been called for Trump, but he is all but certain to win the state.)
But while those 46 votes proved insurmountable for Clinton in terms of electoral math, consider this: Clinton actually lost to Trump by only 107,330 individual votes in all three states combined.
To put exactly how small that number is in perspective, 107,330 people...
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- is fewer than the number of fans that could fit in Michigan Stadium, in Ann Arbor
- is about equal to the population of Boulder, Colorado, but fewer people than how many live in Everett, Washington; North Charleston, South Carolina; or Pearland, Texas
- is far, far fewer than the number of people who attend the Indianapolis 500
- is fewer than the number of people who went to the Belmont Stakes to watch Smarty Jones' Triple Crown attempt in 2004
- is just a few thousand more than the number of people who went to this one U2 concert in 2009
- is far fewer than how many attended the Chicago Cubs victory parade
- is just a little bit more than the entire population of the countries of Aruba, Tonga, or Grenada
- but is less than the entire population of Guam, Samoa, or Vanuatu
In addition to Michigan, the races in Arizona and New Hampshire have not been officially called yet. But when all three are taken into account, Trump won the election with 306 electoral college votes to Clinton's 232.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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