Democrats, working to expand the 2020 presidential map for Democratic candidates, on Tuesday rolled out a new list of targeted states, and there are some big ones on there. In addition to traditional battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, and North Carolina, the Democratic National Committee had already announced that Arizona was on its list. Now it’s adding Georgia and Texas.
The DNC’s new wave of “Battleground Build Up 2020” states are Georgia, Texas, Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Virginia. That’s a diverse list of states trending in some very different directions—and a way to increase the possible paths to the 270 electoral votes needed to defeat Donald Trump in November.
Georgia and Texas are traditionally deep red states that have shown some movement toward Democrats in recent election cycles. While other states swung toward Trump in 2016, Hillary Clinton came as close in Georgia as President Barack Obama did in 2008, and closer than he did in 2012. Then, in 2018, Stacey Abrams came within two points of becoming governor in an election marred by massive voter suppression.
In Texas, similarly, Clinton did better in 2016 than you might have predicted if what you were looking at were the 2008 and 2012 elections and the overall 2016 results. And in 2018, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke came shockingly close to upsetting Sen. Ted Cruz, while Democrats flipped two House seats, came extraordinarily close in a third, and gained seats in the state legislature.
So you can see why the DNC would add these states to its battleground list—but it’s still a big deal to hear that Georgia and Texas are officially targeted states.
Ohio, meanwhile, has been trending Republican, with Sen. Sherrod Brown left as the last Democrat in statewide office. The state had been critical to Democratic election maps, and obviously the DNC isn’t giving up on it, but it’s likely that Democrats will need to find another way to 270.
Virginia, New Hampshire, and Nevada have all voted for Democrats for president in the last three elections, though New Hampshire was one of Clinton’s narrowest wins in 2016. Democrats have taken control of both houses of the state legislatures and the governor’s seats in both Virginia and Nevada in recent years, while in New Hampshire the governor is a Republican but the state legislature is controlled by Democrats. All six senators from the three states are now Democrats.
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan were, of course, the three stunners that handed Trump the Electoral College in 2016. Obama won North Carolina in 2008, but lost there to Mitt Romney in 2012, and Trump took it in 2016, along with Florida, which had gone for Obama in both 2008 and 2012.
Democrats are going to need to fight for every vote and every state in 2020, no matter who we nominate. And these states are going to be center stage in that fight.