Battleground states
Swing states, or battleground states, are jurisdictions that have a history of voting for both Democratic or Republican candidates in elections. Political parties allocate significant campaign resources to swing states due to their potential to change party alignment.
In this slideshow, we take a look at how swing states have voted in presidential elections since the 1990s.
At least once
Since 1992, 30 states have voted for a different party’s candidate in presidential elections at least once. 26 states have been won by less than three percentage points in at least one presidential election since 1992.
Reliably Democratic
The 1992 presidential election had the highest number of states switching parties, with 22 states changing affiliation. The election of Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush in 1992 turned many traditionally Republican states to reliably Democratic for the next decade.
Same political party
Since 1988, 20 states and Washington, DC, have consistently voted for the same political party in every presidential election.
Swing states
Swing states can change over time; for example, New Mexico and Iowa were swing states in 2000 and 2004 but have not been since.
Voted for Joe Biden
Current swing states that voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and Donald Trump in 2016 include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Seven states
In the 2020 election, seven states were decided by a margin of three percentage points or less. Two states won by narrow margins in 2020 were North Carolina and Nevada.
Historical political realignment
Historical political realignment, like the transition from Trump to Biden, helps identify swing states.
Republican candidates
Seven states and Washington, DC, have voted consistently for Democratic presidential candidates since 1988, while 13 states have voted for Republican candidates.
Decisive state
Florida was a decisive state in the 2000 election and has been a reliable predictor of overall election results. Nevada and Ohio have predicted the overall election winner in eight of the past nine elections.
All but one election
Since 2000, five states—Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia—have matched the eventual election winner in all but one election.