In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly three million votes. He won in the Electoral College by flipping states Barack Obama carried in 2012: Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Florida.
But while Florida and Ohio are bellwether states that swing back and forth, the bigger shock for Democrats was losing three states long considered part of their “blue wall” in presidential elections: Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. These states put Trump over the top and could again play the decisive role in this November’s elections.
The battle for the Democratic nomination has revolved around the question of which candidate has the best chance of beating Trump. The more pertinent question is, which candidate can beat him in these critical battleground states – and thereby deny Trump the opportunity to steal another win in the Electoral College.
