What is the most powerful state?

Rank the states on the map above. You may use colors to indicate power rankings.

Determine what factors make a state powerful and how much to weight each of those factors:

• Electoral College Votes/Number of U.S. House members

• Electoral votes per capita

• Rank or importance in primary election/caucus

• Number of U.S. Senators per capita

• Home state of recent presidents

• Home of influential congresspeople (speaker, majority leader, committee heads)

• Swing states - is it a swing state and if so how much?

• Campaign stops in 2016 election

• Consistency in presidential elections or Toss up states

Bonus factors:

• GDP/GDP per capita

• Best overall state ranking

• Amount of media coverage

• Number of fortune 500 company headquarters 

• Unicameral legislature

• ???

Support your claim with reason, facts, data and analysis. Your argument is only as good as your reasons. You may also use an interactive map website to design your map.

Your final product might look something like this:

*This is just an example and is not intended to represent the “correct” answer.

Any map entry must also include an explanation of why it is correct.

I will reveal my official most powerful state map on Monday, February 10th and will give an award for the student with the most persuasive map.

Remember to support your claim with reason, facts, data & analysis. Your argument is only as good as your reasons. You may use this interactive map to design your map.

Fill in the form today or send your answer to jonathan@gopopro.com