2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHillary Clinton’s path to victory
Its a sign of how strongly tilted the Electoral College map is in Clintons favor, as she begins a general election campaign building upon the demographic and geographic coalition that President Barack Obama rode to two electoral landslides. Donald Trump, in contrast, must dramatically reimagine and redraw the political landscape to capture the presidency.
Rather than expand the 2012 map in any significant way, the Clinton campaign and its allies want to replicate it. They are obsessed with choking off Trumps narrower path, hoping to strike a decisive victory in Florida (multiple Clinton officials declared there is nearly no path for Trump without it) while aggressively defending the Democratic-leaning states in the industrial Midwest that Trump has talked most about flipping most importantly, Pennsylvania. Campaign officials say they think Clinton can turn out more female voters than Obama did. But they see one surrogate in particular as key to recreating the Obama coalition: Obama himself.
Clinton has a multitude of paths, as her allies and advisers see it. Trump has a single route: ginning up disaffected, non-college educated, working-class white voters many whom may never have voted before to sweep across the Rust Belt, in places like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio.
I dont think he has anything outside a Rust Belt theory, said a Democratic strategist with close ties to the Clinton campaign. Clinton allies also note that Trump is an organization-lite candidate who is driven by message, but, they argue, that is a risky strategy for getting out people who typically dont vote.
Clintons top campaign officials note there are 19 states that have voted Democratic in each of the past six presidential elections that account for a total of 242 electoral-college votes. Add New Mexico, whose population is 40 percent Latino and which has gone Democratic in five of the past six contests, and that is 247 of the 270 votes needed to get to the White House.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/hillary-clinton-path-victory-224228
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)I won't vote for Hillary (or, Trump) but barring some major misstep or outside calamity (i.e. an indictment - which I doubt) even a decaf Democrat like Hillary should steamroll the likes of Trump.
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)than bitter coffee. Dont you think?
athena
(4,187 posts)and she loses, you will have to live with President Trump, and it'll be your own fault.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Do you really think that the lack of my one vote will cost her election? How does that work?
Silver_Witch
(1,820 posts)Such is life - vote the lessor of two evils yet again.
What a winning ticket!
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)?
Silver_Witch
(1,820 posts)Not clear what you are asking.
You know the saying the "lessor of two evils" don't you. Here you go https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_of_two_evils_principle
Live and learn!
I love learning.
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)You are taking losing hard.