Wednesday, October 26, 2016

The Electoral College Map (10/26/16)



New State Polls (10/26/16)
State
Poll
Date
Margin of Error
Sample
Clinton
Trump
Undecided
Poll Margin
FHQ Margin
Florida
10/21-10/24
+/-3.2%
953 likely voters
43
45
6
+2
+2.26
Louisiana
10/19-10/21
+/-4.4%
500 likely voters
35
50
8
+15
+13.65
Montana
10/3-10/10
+/-4.0%
590 adults
27
43
20
+16
+14.21
Nevada
10/20-10/24
+/-3.7%
707 likely voters
43
43
2
+/-0
+1.20
New Hampshire
10/20-10/24
+/-3.5%
768 likely voters
45
36
3
+9
--
New Hampshire
10/22-10/25
+/-4.9%
401 likely voters
46
42
4
+4
+6.16
Utah
10/23-10/24
+/-4.0%
750 likely voters
28
32
4
+4
+9.481
1Excluding the two head-to-head online panel surveys in Utah lowers Trump's average advantage there to 7.01 points. Those polls are outliers in view of the majority of surveys in the Beehive state during 2016 and serve as an anchor on the data. The change would shift Utah within the Lean Trump category, closer to Toss Up Trump. McMullin garnered 29% support in the Rasmussen survey.


Polling Quick Hits:
13 days to go.

If yesterday was a day of mostly blue state polls, then today mixes in a bit of red with a couple of battleground surveys.


Florida:
Selzer's survey of the Sunshine state may be a harbinger of things to come, but it is by itself among recent polling in showing a Trump lead. That is not to say that this poll is off. It could be the start of a trajectory change, but that is not evident yet. Truth be told, Trump's 45 percent is at about the apex of his recent polling support in Florida polls while Clinton's 43 percent share is around her lowest.


Louisiana:
Trump has dipped into the mid-40s a handful of times in the Pelican state, but has mostly been somewhere in the 50 percent area. That will be enough to win Louisiana, particularly when he is ahead for Clinton by nearly 14 points.


Montana:
Like South Dakota a day ago, it is nice to have some data from underpolled Montana. But unlike South Dakota, this poll from Montana State-Billings conducted in the same window as the Trump tape and the town hall debate finds a wider Trump advantage. And that is true despite the fact that Trump is in the low 40s.


Nevada:
Nevada is competitive, but has consistently produced polls with Clinton tied with Trump or ahead in the toss up range. This Marist survey fits right in that area. It narrows the FHQ margin a touch, but keeps the Silver state on the Clinton side of the partisan line but still off the Watch List.


New Hampshire:
Much was made earlier in the day about the Monmouth New Hampshire poll on top of the Trump lead in Florida. However, that Clinton +4 is on the low end of the range in the Granite state while the Marist survey is on what has been the higher end of the range established since debate season started. Split the difference between the two and one ends up pretty close to where FHQ has the race in New Hampshire now: a little more than six points in Clinton's direction.


Utah:
Utah is closer than the FHQ average indicates. It is no surprise given how consistent the results have been across most polls there over the last week. Trump has fairly consistently lead even with McMullin nearly evenly splitting the typical Republican share of support in the Beehive state. And while that Trump lead is real, it is also real tenuous in a ruby red state with just less than two weeks left until election day.


--
Changes (10/26/16)
Nothing changed on the map, Spectrum or Watch List from a day ago.




The Electoral College Spectrum1
MD-102
(13)
RI-4
(162)
PA-20
(263)
MO-10
(126)
TN-11
(61)
HI-4
(17)
NJ-14
(176)
CO-94
(272 | 275)
AK-3
(116)
AR-6
(50)
VT-3
(20)
OR-7
(183)
FL-29
(301 | 266)
SC-9
(113)
ND-3
(44)
CA-55
(75)
NM-5
(188)
NC-15
(316 | 237)
IN-11
(104)
KY-8
(41)
MA-11
(86)
MN-10
(198)
NV-6
(322 | 222)
UT-6
(93)
NE-53
(33)
NY-29
(115)
MI-16
(214)
OH-18
(340 | 216)
MS-6
(87)
AL-9
(28)
IL-20+13
(136)
ME-23
(216)
IA-6
(198)
KS-6
(81)
WV-5
(19)
DE-3
(139)
VA-13
(229)
AZ-11
(192)
SD-3
(75)
OK-7
(14)
CT-7
(146)
WI-10
(239)
GA-16+13
(181)
LA-8
(72)
ID-4
(7)
WA-12
(158)
NH-4
(243)
TX-38
(164)
MT-3
(64)
WY-3
(3)
1 Follow the link for a detailed explanation on how to read the Electoral College Spectrum.

2 The numbers in the parentheses refer to the number of electoral votes a candidate would have if he or she won all the states ranked prior to that state. If, for example, Trump won all the states up to and including Colorado (all Clinton's toss up states plus Colorado), he would have 275 electoral votes. Trump's numbers are only totaled through the states he would need in order to get to 270. In those cases, Clinton's number is on the left and Trumps's is on the right in bold italics.
To keep the figure to 50 cells, Washington, DC and its three electoral votes are included in the beginning total on the Democratic side of the spectrum. The District has historically been the most Democratic state in the Electoral College.

3 Maine and Nebraska allocate electoral college votes to candidates in a more proportional manner. The statewide winner receives the two electoral votes apportioned to the state based on the two US Senate seats each state has. Additionally, the winner within a congressional district is awarded one electoral vote. Given current polling, all five Nebraska electoral votes would be allocated to Trump. In Maine, a split seems more likely. Trump leads in Maine's second congressional district while Clinton is ahead statewide and in the first district. She would receive three of the four Maine electoral votes and Trump the remaining electoral vote. Those congressional district votes are added approximately where they would fall in the Spectrum above.

4 Colorado is the state where Clinton crosses the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidential election. That line is referred to as the victory line. Currently, Colorado is in the Toss Up Clinton category.



NOTE: Distinctions are made between states based on how much they favor one candidate or another. States with a margin greater than 10 percent between Clinton and Trump are "Strong" states. Those with a margin of 5 to 10 percent "Lean" toward one of the two (presumptive) nominees. Finally, states with a spread in the graduated weighted averages of both the candidates' shares of polling support less than 5 percent are "Toss Up" states. The darker a state is shaded in any of the figures here, the more strongly it is aligned with one of the candidates. Not all states along or near the boundaries between categories are close to pushing over into a neighboring group. Those most likely to switch -- those within a percentage point of the various lines of demarcation -- are included on the Watch List below.


The Watch List1
State
Switch
Colorado
from Toss Up Clinton
to Lean Clinton
Indiana
from Lean Trump
to Strong Trump
Mississippi
from Strong Trump
to Lean Trump
Ohio
from Toss Up Clinton
to Toss Up Trump
Oregon
from Lean Clinton
to Strong Clinton
Pennsylvania
from Lean Clinton
to Toss Up Clinton
Utah
from Lean Trump
to Strong Trump
1 Graduated weighted average margin within a fraction of a point of changing categories.


Recent Posts:
The Electoral College Map (10/25/16)

The Electoral College Map (10/24/16)

The Electoral College Map (10/23/16)

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