The outcome of the 2020 election could depend on just 4 states
The 2020 general election could ultimately boil down to just four states, making it the narrowest electoral map for a presidential contest in recent memory, The Washington Post reports.
"Because of the partisanship of the country and the partisanship of the president, we are now looking at the smallest map in modern political history," Jim Messina, the campaign manager for former President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, said.
You can probably guess at least a few of the states — all of which President Trump snagged by a percentage point or less in the 2016 election. They are Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Many analysts reportedly consider Wisconsin, in particular, to be the single state upon which the election could turn.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Post points out that part of the reason the terrain has narrowed so much is that Trump has done little to expand his base, while it's unclear if states like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina are really ready to shift from red to blue. If that's not the case, and Trump doesn't flip any blue states, the election's fate will reside in Florida and the Great Lakes Region. The Post reports that if the Democrats win Florida, the party may need only to secure one of the other three states to turn the tide. Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treat Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
-
Nnela Kalu’s historic Turner Prize winTalking Point Glasgow-born artist is first person with a learning disability to win Britain’s biggest art prize
-
Bridget Riley: Learning to See – an ‘invigorating and magical ensemble’The Week Recommends The English artist’s striking paintings turn ‘concentration into reverie’
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
