TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona could be the state that decides who will be President. Our changing political mix could make the difference in which candidate gets over the top.
With 11 electoral college votes, Arizona’s sort of a middle-weight among the states. But now those 11 votes could be the key to who becomes President in a tight race to 270 votes.
University of Arizona Political Science Professor Barbara Norrander says it’s new for Arizona’s votes to have the potential to be so decisive.
She says, “Well, in the past, Arizona was a reliably Republican state. And so it wasn't one of the states that would sort of be in play, but this year we were a battleground state. We saw all the advertisements and all the visits by the candidates. And so they thought that Arizona could go either direction and that’s why Arizona became more important this time around.”
But will Arizona continue to be a battleground state where both parties feel they can win, or does Arizona’s vote simply reflect the unique mix of who’s running this year?
“Well we'll have to see. States tend to remain in the battleground position for several election cycles, at least, and you never know if what happens in one year is an anomaly or if it's a trend. So I suspect that maybe in 2024, Arizona will be another battleground state and our support in the Electoral College is something that both candidates would like to get.”
