Why a Biden blowout is still the most likely result

There are several key differences between 2016 and 2020

President Trump and Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images)

Five weeks out from the 2020 presidential election, significant media attention is being given to the small possibility that President Donald Trump could again pull off a narrow Electoral College victory while losing the popular vote, or that even an Electoral College tie could push the election to the House. Those scenarios, though, are mainly making headlines because they're interesting fodder for the pundit class. All the data point to a big blowout victory for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

The major recent polls (Economist/YouGov: Biden +7, CNBC: Biden +9, Quinnipiac: Biden +10, NYT: Biden +8) show Biden with a truly commanding lead nationally. Equally important is how Biden leads. The 2016 election was always a much closer and more dynamic race, Trump was facing a much more unpopular opponent, and a much larger number of voters were undecided. None of those are the case this time.

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Jon Walker

Jon Walker is the author of After Legalization: Understanding the Future of Marijuana Policy. He is a freelance reporter and policy analyst that focuses on health care, drug policy, and politics.