Together, swing states hold over 90 major electoral votes out of the 270 needed to win the White House. They are the "Magnificent Seven" of U.S. presidential election math.
These seven states are the real battlegrounds in the November polls, while the other 43 are largely considered uncompetitive, firmly in the pocket of one party or the other. They act as the tipping point, capable of determining the outcome in a system that rewards victory not in the national popular vote but in individual states.
This is how it has repeatedly happened that the White House, respecting a mechanism designed to balance popular and geographic representation, has been won by a candidate who actually lost the total vote count.
The Magnificent Seven
The Latest Polls in the State
Pennsylvania represents the largest prize among the swing states and possibly the decisive one. The economy, particularly inflation, leads the concerns here, as the state has experienced record inflation. Wages have generally not kept up with the overall 19% increase in prices since the pre-pandemic era. Between the two major Democratic urban hubs, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, lie rural and economically depressed areas. Erie County, once an industrial center, now ranks high in poverty, with one in eight residents suffering from food insecurity. Energy is a particularly contentious issue, as Pennsylvania is a hub of fracking (hydraulic fracturing), and the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S., after Texas. Despite President Biden's economic plans bringing at least $33 billion to the state, this has not been enough to improve voters' outlook. While unemployment remains low at 3.4%, robust manufacturing jobs have declined since 2020.
Pennsylvania, blue collar: energia e manifatturiero
