When the general election finally comes around, 11 specific states will be getting the lion’s share of attention. Also known as ‘purple states’ or ‘battleground states,’ swing states are unpredictable and critical to securing enough delegates to win a presidential race.
This election cycle, “these swing states are going to be the most important for the Republican candidate,” writes Abby Johnston. It’s essentially the same list from the 2012 election map. Politico called Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire and Virginia this year’s “toss-up” states, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia all having backed Bush and Obama twice. New Hampshire and Iowa, on the other hand, have backed the Democratic candidates in three out of the past four elections.
