by Stuart Mitchell

SEVEN states will determine the future of America and are crucial for both the Democrat’s Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump if they are to win the race for the keys to The White House.

Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are the swing states, and in the 2020 election, these seven battlegrounds were won by less than three points – and six of these battlegrounds won by current President, Joe Biden.

A swing state is defined as any area where either the Democrats or Republicans can win.

Both presidential nominees have focused their campaigns towards these areas in the last few days as the margin of victory is marginal and rather than taking their campaigns to ‘safe states’, they are determined to squeeze as many final votes from the swings as possible.

UWS News looks at the decisive U.S states, that are targeted for victory:

Arizona

11 of 538 Electoral College Votes

The Democrats gained here in 2020 for the first time since the 1990s, with a winning margin of only 10,000 votes. As the state borders Mexico, a focus here is the debate on immigration, due to the number of border crossings in recent months.

Abortion rights, which has been the headline discussion ahead of this election is a high focus too, after the Republicans failed in trying to reinstate a 160-year-old near total ban on terminating pregnancies in the state.

Georgia

16 of 538 Electoral College Votes

This is one of the sites of alleged election interference that Trump and others are accused of, in conspiring to overturn the narrow defeat to Biden in 2020. Biden was the first Democrat to win here since Bill Clinton in 1992. A third of the population is African-America and the residents were believed to have a big say in the win for Biden previously.

Michigan

15 of 538 Electoral College Votes

The winner of the last two elections has clinched victory in Michigan. They backed Biden by 150,000 votes. More than 100,000 of the 10 million population voted ‘uncommitted’ on their Democratic primary contest in February and the Great Lakes state has become a voice against Biden’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza. It has the largest proportion of Arab-Americans in the country and since Harris’ nomination, she has taken a harder stance on Israel.

There is an interesting sub plot here, with independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr on the ballot, but he suspended his campaign to support Trump. Kennedy Jr hold 3% of voter support, and this could push Trump over the finish line with the competition close.

Nevada

6 of 538 Electoral College Votes

The Silver State is considered one to watch in this election, as after a number of Democrat wins in recent elections, and is considered as a strong possibility for a switch.

Trump was believed to have a wide lead over Biden here before the nomination was transferred to Harris. There is a large Latin population of the 3.2 million and both candidates see their votes as crucial. Nevada has one of the highest unemployment rates and has the slowest post Covid recovery in the country.

North Carolina

16 of 538 Electoral College Votes

Obama won this state by only 14,000 votes in 2008 and it was the first time it was a blue democratic state in around 40 years. With more and more people moving to its cities, the vote has been more split recently.

With Trump and the Republicans winning here in 2020, Trump himself has stated this would be a big state to win, and it has been considered winnable once again.

It has been the site of late debate, with election eve rumours of a low turnout for his rally and has asked the question of whether North Carolina will be a blue state or red. With 16 of the 538 electoral college votes. Winning this one would be important for Trump if he’s looking for an easy route back to the White House.

Pennsylvania

19 of 538 Electoral College Votes

Considered the keystone state by many, it has 19 out of the 538 electoral college votes, which is the most of all seven swing states. It has made headlines before election day , as it is the site of both assassination attempts on Donald Trump. Both Harris, Trump and their teams have appeared in the state more than 50 times since July.

Some voters have described their exhaustion at the continuous campaigning, and that the division in the state is evident. In an area commonly competitive between the sporting rivalry of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the rural side of the state will also have a huge say.

The economy is the main issue in Pennsylvania, with high inflation through the democratic Biden administration being highlighted by the Trump camp.

A total of 13% of voters are under 25 and with this one expected to be crucial as always, the youth vote will be critical.

Wisconsin

10 of 538 Electoral College Votes

Lastly alphabetically, Wisconsin could play a front role in the race, with other candidates at the centre of the discussion. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr (who mentioned in the Michigan section) had big following and it is believed this affected the early vote predictions for both Harris and Trump.

Democrats have been unhappy with Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who they feel did not comply with elections rules. Trump has stated “if we win Wisconsin, we win the whole thing”.