Presidential Swing States

The 2020 US presidential race was one of the most hotly contested and contentious in recent American history. While the election produced the greatest turnout in American history and the highest percentage turnout in 60 years, the election still came down to a handful of swing states that ultimately decided the election. In their third edition of Presidential Swing States, Rafael Jacob and David Schultz examine the 2020 presidential election, keying in on the few critical states that actually decided the election and why. With cases studies written by prominent political scientists who are experts on these swing states, Presidential Swing States also explains why some states were swing states but no longer are, why some continue to be swing states, and what states beyond 2020 may be the future swing states that decide the presidency. The book contains in-depth case studies of the swing-states and swing-counties that decide presidential elections in the United States. Students in classes on American Politics and Government, Parties, Campaigns and Elections, State Politics, and the Presidency will all be well-served by the analyses in this volume, as will journalists reporting on presidential elections, and the general public.

David Schultz is a Hamline University distinguished professor of political science. Rafael Jacob is a fellow at the Raoul-Dandurand Chair's Center for U.S. Studies and instructor in the political science department at Concordia University.

Introduction by David Schultz and Rafael Jacob Part I: The "Classic" Swing States Chapter 1: Florida: Center of Presidential Attention, But for How Long? by Sean D. Foreman Chapter 2: Battleground Nevada Holds Steady in 2020 by David F. Damore, Elizabeth Maltby, and Rebecca D. Gill Chapter 3: Set in Granite: New Hampshire as a Presidential Bellwether by Dante J. Scala Chapter 4: Reliably Purple: The 2020 Presidential Election in North Carolina by Christopher A. Cooper and H. Gibbs Knotts Chapter 5: Pennsylvania: A Bellwether Like No Other by Christopher Borick and Rafael Jacob Chapter 6: From Blue to Red and Back Again: The Future of Wisconsin Politics in the Aftermath of the 2020 Presidential Election by Neil Kraus and Aaron C. Weinschenk Part II: The "On the Bubble" Swing States Chapter 7: Iowa: Islands in the Stream by Donna R. Hoffman and Christopher W. Larimer Chapter 8: A State Divided: Maine and Its Continued Electoral Vote Split by James P. Melcher and Amy Fried Chapter 9: Minnesota: "The O