By The Bald Eagle
WASHINGTON D.C. (CWBN)_ The focus of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election has been on the Swing States, also known as Battleground States. But the vast majority of America’s 50 states can be classified as ‘Safe States’ where the vote is a foregone conclusion for either President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump can comfortably count on 20 states whose populations are largely conservative – Indiana (11 Electoral College Votes), Tennessee (11), Missouri (10), Alabama (9), South Carolina (9), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Oklahoma (7), Mississippi (6), Arkansas (6), Utah (6), Kansas (6), Nebraska (5), West Virginia (5), Idaho (4), Alaska (3), Montana (3), North Dakota (3), South Dakota (3) and Wyoming (3). Most of these are relatively small states, but there are a lot of them in his corner, giving him 126 solid votes in the Electoral College.
States with more liberal outlooks generally vote for Democrats and in 2020 there are 15 of them that are expected to vote overwhelmingly for Biden – the largest state California (55 Electoral College Votes), New York (29), Illinois (20), New Jersey (14), Washington (12), Massachusetts (11), Maryland (10), Oregon (7), Connecticut (7), New Mexico (5), Rhode Island (4), Maine (4), Hawaii (4), Delaware (3) and Vermont (3). The District of Columbia (3), where the capital is located, is also expected to vote firmly pro-Biden. Not surprisingly, these liberal states have large non-white populations of African-Americans or Hispanics. Biden thus has a commanding 191 Electoral College Votes.
But then there are 3 states that are highly likely to vote Republican, although Trump appears to have lost ground in them since the 2016 election – the second largest state Texas (38), Ohio (18) and Iowa (6). Win those as well and Trump would have a further 62 votes, for a total of 188.
Biden on the other hand is also expected to win in 5 other states where Trump could mount a reasonably strong showing – Virginia (13), Minnesota (10), Colorado (9), Nevada (6), and New Hampshire (4). That’s 42 more votes for a total of 233. That would make it 233-188 in Biden’s favour, according to the latest polls and political experts, making a Trump victory more uncertain.
Yet, the cumulative totals of these Safe States do not amount to 270 for either candidate, the magical number required for victory. Thus the seven Swing States assume their extraordinarily level of importance importance – Florida (29), Pennsylvania (20), Georgia (16), Michigan (16), North Carolina (15), Arizona (11), and Wisconsin (10).
