By:Brady Kaplan
As the election approaches, you might be asking yourself, “what the heck is a swing state?” Well, I’m here to explain the importance of a swing state during an election.
Swing states are competitive states that have historically gone for either party in the presidential election. These swing states can make or break an. According to U.S. News, the potential swing states for the 2024 presidential election are Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Swing states are also important because, according to the U.S. Vote Foundation, “In all states, except for Maine and Nebraska which use the proportional system to allocate the electoral votes, the principle “winner-take-all” rule determines which candidate gets all of the state’s electoral votes.”
One of the biggest states to be considered a swing state, in this election and past years, is Arizona. Why is Arizona considered one of the biggest swing states? According to U.S. News, “Arizona is one of those border states, and its centrality to the national conversation around immigration policy as well as its recent general election history make it a crucial swing state in the race to the White House.”
Another interesting reason why Arizona is a swing state, according to U.S. News, is because for a long time it was considered a red state, but it ended up blue in the 2020 election by only 10,000 votes. It now seems that Donald Trump has flipped Arizona back to a red state for this election due to his primary victory that happened in mid-March of 2024. However, both candidates still have the ability to swing the state in their favor.
This is why voting in swing states is important and why I think swing states are important to presidential elections.
