How many states got zero presidential campaign stops in 2024?
2020 Campaign Stops by POTUS Candidates
The map shows the locations of the 262 general-election campaign events of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:tical Analysis
Identify the state that got the most campaign stops by the POTUS candidates in the 2024 election.
Identify the number of states that got ZERO campaign stops by POTUS candidates in the 2024 election.
Of the 262 events in the 2024 presidential election, 246 (94%) were in the 7 closely divided battleground states. Because of state winner-take-all laws for awarding electoral votes, presidential candidates only pay attention to voters in closely divided battleground states. These are states where the two-party vote is in the narrow range of about six percentage points (47%-53%). Identify the 7 battleground states in the map above.
The 2024 general-election campaign for President was concentrated on just 7 closely divided states. These 7 states have a little less than 20% of the U.S. population which means that 80% of Americans were mere spectators to the 2024 presidential election. Democracy is government by the people. Explain whether 20% of the people is the same as democracy?
What is one political consequence of this concentration of campaign activity in just a few states?
What is the political science term we use to describe states like Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina which got the most campaign stops?
Central to the concept of democracy is the the idea that all people are politically equal. The Declaration of Independence contains these lines regarding the value of equality. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” Does this map resemble political equality?
Why did California, the nation's most populous state, receive only 1 campaign stops?
Imagine the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished the Electoral College (don’t hold your breath). How would that Constitutional change impact the data from the map?
At the time of the Constitutional Convention The Anti-Federalists were afraid of too much power being concentrated in a central national government. They preferred that power be centered at the state level. If an anti-federalist saw this map, after they stopped freaking out about how big the U.S. had gotten, what claim would they make about this map and the power of states?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
If states with a majority of electoral votes enacted the National Popular Vote Plan, US presidential campaigns would be very different and campaign stops would be more evenly distributed. Use this handy little link to contact your state representative (they decide where your state's electoral votes go) and let them know what you think about the National Popular Vote Plan.
Get Creative
If the electoral college were a kind of animal, what would it be?
