With 40 states voting for the same party in each election since 2000, there are a small selection of states that Clinton and Trump are focusing their campaigning on to win in the upcoming election.
Politico has identified Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin as states with the potential to impact who will become the next President of the United States.
Trump finished three days of campaigning in Florida on Tuesday 26th and filled the airways with his most expensive advertising yet. Florida is key campaign ground, the state is worth 29 of the necessary 270 electoral votes needed to win, the largest of the swing states. Clinton has spent 2 days in the state.
Wesley Le Blanc a Communication Major at UNF in Florida believes this election is slightly different than usual, “It’s a really chaotic scene. Everyone is talking politics and everyone is talking loud about politics but many people forget that elections are generally this heated.
“When Obama first decided to run, people were either extremely supportive or absolutely furious, just as they are with someone like Trump today. When the video of Romney saying he’s not worried about the 47% leaked, people went crazy. Overall though this election has been the craziest yet.”
Wesley hasn’t seen any campaigning or advertising on campus but he did say, “The general vibe on campus and from most around me is the same: we are screwed. This election is a very damned if you do, damned if you don’t election.
“What it comes down to for most people I’m around on campus, they’re going with one of two options. 1. They are voting Hillary not because they want to, but because they can’t stand even the thought of Trump being on office. 2. They are voting third party to show that they are unhappy with either candidate.
Some would say they’re throwing their vote away but as Americans, we have the right to vote for who we believe is best fit to be our President. In my opinion, we shouldn’t vote for someone only to prevent another from getting into office. You speak your opinion with your vote so vote what you feel. Of course, there are those who support Trump and those who support Hillary and they have the right to do so. I find though that not many in my college age group are in full support of one of these candidates. ”
Real Clear Politics October polls suggest Clinton has a slight lead over Trump in the state of Florida.
Another key battleground state for Clinton and Trump to conquer is Colorado. Colorado has been on uncertain ground since 2004. In 2008 it swung in favour of the Democrats as the majority of residents voted for Obama.
Rebecca Howarth, 21, from Wimborne in Bournemouth, is in her third year of studying American Studies and History at Sussex Uni. She is currently on her year abroad at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Having been there the last two months she has been able to get student look into the world of politics.
“When I was in England I just didn’t understand why people were voting for Trump, it baffled me. But being here and listening to what people are saying it seems like no one is voting for who they like but rather who they dislike the least so you’ll hear people like ‘I’m voting Hilary because Trump is obscene’ or ‘I’m voting Trump because Hilary is a criminal’.
“Also people seem to want to vote Trump because they don’t think he’ll be allowed to do much if he’s in power.” Real Clear politics polls suggest Trump has lost support since the start of October and now Clinton has a plus 6 point lead.
Rebecca said, “There’s a ton of campaigning on campus. Yesterday, my friends went to a gathering in our main square where there were a load of preachers preaching about how women were whores and how sex, Jews, and Muslims are all wrong. So today they’ve arranged an anti-Trump march in response to that.
“There’s so much reminding people to vote on campus, like everyday since we got here in August they’re on campus telling people to register and vote. I think that’s because they’re trying to get as much democrat support as they can.” Rebecca added that Colorado appears more liberal than democratic, and that most Trump supporters keep themselves hidden.
Rebecca attended the Hillary rally in Denver given by Bernie Saunders on October 17th and said ” he was basically saying how working with Hilary they’ve made a progressive platform and trying to persuade all his voters to vote for Hilary – saying the aim is to beat Trump.”
“Regardless of who wins, we still have the Supreme Court and Congress to keep them in check. No matter how crazy a president is, they don’t earn free reign to do whatever they please. They must adhere to our checks and balances system. I think many people forget this which is why so many are terrified of America’s future,” says Wesley from Florida.
Trumps next campaign trail stops will be in Ohio and New Hampshire, whilst Clinton will be giving a speech with Michelle Obama on Friday in North Carolina.
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