In the US presidential election, in most states, it was already determined whether Democratic candidate Kamala Harris or Republican candidate Donald Trump would win the state’s electoral votes before the voting began. Therefore, the campaign teams of Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump spent most of their time and money on the fiercely competitive states.
What is a battleground state?
This is the political name for states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - where the parties have similar levels of support, having voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates in recent US presidential elections.
As the American electorate has become more polarized, the number of battleground states has shrunk. For example, Donald Trump is unlikely to win Massachusetts or Kamala Harris is unlikely to win Oklahoma.
Both parties can count on a certain number of electoral votes based on states that are virtually certain to win, such as 11 electoral votes from Massachusetts for the Democrats and 7 from Oklahoma for the Republicans. So candidates compete in battleground states to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.
How many battleground states are there?
The list of battleground states may change, but political analysts typically identify seven battleground states in the 2024 US presidential election as: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
These are states that had a close vote in the 2020 US presidential election when Donald Trump and Joe Biden ran for the White House and also have a history of being quite competitive.
For example, in 2016, Mr. Trump won Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin by a total of 77,744 votes, while Mr. Biden won all three states in 2020. Arizona and Georgia voted for Mr. Biden in 2020 and supported Mr. Trump in 2016.
General characteristics of battleground states
Battleground states in the US election are economically and culturally diverse, with some states acting as a microcosm for the entire US. For example, Pennsylvania is considered an important battleground state with 19 electoral votes.
In the 2024 US presidential election, both Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris consider Pennsylvania a key state on the path to victory and spent many of the final hours of the campaign here.
The battleground state of Pennsylvania is a mix of urban areas including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and rural areas. It has a diverse economy and demographics similar to the United States in miniature. Pennsylvania's population is 10.5% black and its per capita income is $41,234.
Election poll results in battleground states
A Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released on October 23 showed that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were neck and neck. Harris’s surge in support since she replaced Biden in late July has stalled.
About 50% of voters in battleground states, who always consider the economy as the number one issue, expressed more confidence in Mr. Trump in steering the US economy while the support rate for Ms. Harris on this issue was 45%.
