Swing State | Illustrated by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
Ohio is notorious in national elections for being a major deciding swing state. Recently, however, the state has been leaning towards the republican party when looking at national, state-wide and local elections. Despite this, Biden has been able to win over some of the state leading up to the election, causing Ohio to once again become a swing state.
“Ohio, a swing state which Obama won in 2012, voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016. This election, the Biden campaign seems to have made some inroads in winning some of that lost support, reverting the state to a swing state,” according to PBS.
Ohio and other swing states
Although Ohio has shown to be a prominent swing state in the past, it is starting to show trends of becoming a state that votes more towards the republican party. Because of this, political science Professor Dr. Sean Wilson points out that Ohio has become less of a swing state over time in relation to other swing states.
“I don’t think you should treat Ohio as being the same type of swing state that some of these other states are. If Trump loses this state, he is going to lose the election because this is a fairly red state. If he loses this one, he is clearly going to lose the election. If he wins this one, he still needs other states and it’s those other states that probably are more swing,” said Dr. Wilson.
States that are becoming more traditional swing states, according to Dr, Wilson, are Michigan and Wiscosin, which voted against their predicted party in the 2016 presidential election
“They really surprised us in 2016. They were not supposed to be swing states, they were supposed to be blue states. What Trump needs to do is not only win Florida and not only win this state, but he has to pick off some of the others. And that is going to be harder for him,” said Dr. Wilson.
Campaigns in Ohio vs other states
Because Ohio is a swing state, although leaning towards the red according to recent elections, campaigning for both Biden and Trump will be different in Ohio and other swing states than it would be to states that predominantly vote one way.
“Both campaigns are aware that Trump over performed in the Industrial Midwest -- primarily with white, working class voters in small towns and rural areas (a population that is much larger in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin than it is in other swing states). The Biden team is trying to cut the margins there, so you see messaging that is targeted at these kinds of voters,” said political science professor Dr. Lee Hannah.
Living in a swing state
Dr. Hannah encourages students to vote not only because it is their duty as an American, but because they live in a state where their votes can determine the outcome of the election.
“They should vote. They should vote regardless of where they live but they should know that a lot of Americans in safe states are envious of their position,” said Dr. Hannah.
