How did the battleground states shift?

Last updated Nov 11, 2024

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:

  1. There are seven battleground (swing) states (Wisconsin,Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada) According to the data from the map above, how many of those states shifted from voting for a Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in 2020 to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2024?

  2. What was the only battleground state that did not flip (switch) parties between 2020 and 2024?

  3. According to the visual above, Pennsylvania has the most voters. How does the key to the visual above show the size of a state’s voting population?

  4. Which of the battleground states had the biggest change between 2020 and 2024?

  5. Some experts think this election was about gender, others think it was about immigration, other say economics. There are many reasons that Trump won the election. Why do you think all of these battleground states swung towards Trump?

  6. Swing states are states that are not reliably blue (Democratic) or red (Republican) and were won by less than three points in recent presidential elections. In the past Florida and Ohio were both swing states, but in this year’s election Florida was + 13 points Republican and Ohio was +11 points Republican; and neither is any longer considered a swing state. How many of the swing states listed above will probably no longer be considered swing states?

  7. Why do you think states change from swing states to not swing states?

  8. In the 2024 election Harris had the advantage among women, winning 53% to Trump’s 46%, but that margin was somewhat narrower than President Joe Biden’s in 2020, according to the survey. In 2020, VoteCast showed Biden won 55% of women, while 43% went for Trump. What do you think explains this change?

  9. According to the visual above, by how many votes did Trump win the popular vote?

  10. How are you feeling about the outcome of the election and how do you think it will impact you?

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

Contact Donald Trump on X at @realDonaldTrump and let him know why you think he won.

Get Creative

Complete the following sentence. A second Trump presidency compared to the first Trump presidency is like ___________ to ______________.

Learning Extension*

Read the complete exit polling data.

 
 
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How competitive were U.S. House races in 2024?

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Why did Trump win the election?