General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: O'Rourke doesn't know if he's a progressive. [View all]Garrett78
(10,721 posts)...the Republican electorate is much different than the Democratic electorate. There were factors at play in 2016 that won't be in 2020. We had a Democratic nominee who had been under ruthless attack for 3 decades, Comey's last minute announcement and Trump was new (he still has a cult following, but he's even more hated now than he was 2 years ago).
MI and PA were blue for 6 straight elections prior to 2016, and WI was blue for 7 straight. I think any number of potential Democratic nominees will carry all 3 states, which would give our nominee 278 electoral votes. Because I don't think Trump can carry a single state that Clinton won. Be it VA or NV or CO, I just can't see Trump winning any state that he lost in '16.
Other states that will be in play include Florida (which is less red in presidential elections), North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia. Maybe even Iowa, Ohio and Texas. At the very least, Republicans will be forced to spend money in those states.
There's also a chance that some right winger will launch a 3rd party bid and pick off a state such as Utah, which would make Trump's path to 270 even more challenging. This is assuming Trump doesn't resign between now and then.
My strong preference is for Harris, but there are other potential candidates who can win.