Lauren Gambino, political correspondent for Guardian US, discusses which states Biden will need to win to take the White House, and what Trump will need to do to retain the presidency
What matters on 3 November is not which candidate gets more votes in the US election, but who secures the 270 electoral college votes needed to get to the White House. Lauren Gambino, political correspondent for Guardian US, talks to Anushka Asthana about Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s possible paths to power.
In 2016, Trump pulled off a shock victory by becoming the first Republican presidential candidate in 28 years to win Michigan, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin – but by razor-thin victories says Lauren. Biden wants to get a higher turnout among African American voters and he wants to try and win back white, working-class former Democrat voters. Biden is also looking for support from the suburbs, particularly college-educated women and men who are increasingly turning away from Trump, and seniors. Biden has been trying to take back the narrative by reframing the race as “a campaign between Scranton and Park Avenue” and polls currently have Biden leading in these battleground states. The president is also struggling to maintain control of states he won a bit more easily in 2016 – namely Florida, Arizona and North Carolina. If Trump loses Florida, where Biden has a marginal lead, it will be almost impossible for him to win the White House.
