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What are the swing states? See polls, past results from 7 key states

Vaseline November 5, 2024

The nation’s eyes are ready to be on the seven swing states that could decide the 2024 presidential election as the race reaches its final hours.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have stormed the states making their final pitches to crucial voters who could put them in the White House.

Recent polls in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona show tight races in election battlegrounds.

An unexpected potential swing state revealed itself Saturday when a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll showed Harris leading Trump by three points in Iowa, though the result is within the survey’s margin of error. The state was considered a safe state for Trump before the election.

Here’s what you need to know about the swing states as Election Day approaches.

Swing state polls, past election results

Here are some recent polls taken in the battleground states, with the dates they were taken, sample sizes and their margin of error, as well as the last two election results in each state.

Arizona

Past election results:

2016 presidential election results: Trump defeated Clinton 49% to 45.5%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Biden defeated Trump 49.4% to 49.1%

Georgia

Past election results:

2016 presidential election results: Trump defeated Hillary Clinton 51% to 45.9%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Joe Biden defeated Trump 49.5% to 49.3%

Michigan

Past election results:

2016 presidential election results: Trump defeated Clinton 47.6% to 47.4%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Biden defeated Trump 50.6% to 47.8%

Nevada

Past election results:

2016 presidential election results: Clinton defeated Trump 47.9% to 45.5%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Biden defeated Trump 50.1% to 47.7%

North Carolina

Past election results:

2016 presidential election results: Trump defeated Clinton 50.5% to 46.8%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Trump defeated Biden 50.1% to 48.7%

Pennsylvania

Past election results:

2016 presidential election results: Trump defeated Clinton 48.6% to 47.9%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Biden defeated Trump 50% to 48.8%

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Wisconsin

Past election results:

2016 presidential election results: Trump defeated Clinton 47.8% to 47%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Biden defeated Trump 49.6% to 48.9%

Things to keep in mind when voting

The margin of error describes how accurately we can count on the research results being representative of the entire population.

When a candidate’s lead is “within” the margin of error, it is considered a “statistical tie,” according to the Pew Research Center.

Pew also found that the majority of pollsters have changed their methods since the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, significantly underestimating Trump’s performance.

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What are the swing states? See polls, past results from 7 key states