Editing Swing state (section)

{{Short description|US state where no party for election has overwhelming support}}
{{For|the comedy film|Swing State (film)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Update|date=November 2024}}
[[File:Red states and blue states of the US based on data from the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections.svg|thumb|350px|Summary of statewide results of the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]], [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]], [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]], and [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election]]s by state
{{legend|#ff0000|Won by the Republicans in all four elections}}
{{legend|#ff8080|Won by the Republicans in three of the four elections}}
{{legend|#a000a0|Won by each party twice in the four elections}}
{{legend|#80a0ff|Won by the Democrats in three of the four elections}}
{{legend|#0000ff|Won by the Democrats in all four elections}}]]
[[File:2025 Cook PVI.svg|thumb|360px|Map of [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]–[[2024 United States presidential election|2024]] [[Cook PVI]] for all voting entities in the [[2028 United States presidential election]] ([[United States state|states]], [[District of Columbia|federal district]], and [[list of United States congressional districts|congressional districts]] of [[Maine]] and [[Nebraska]])<br><br>'''Map legend:'''<br>{{legend|#1a3165|State or district has a Cook PVI of D+10 or greater}}{{legend|#2750b0|State or district has a Cook PVI between D+5 and D+10}}{{legend|#668be1|State or district has a Cook PVI between D+2 and D+5}}{{legend|#a8c1fa|State or district has a Cook PVI between EVEN and D+2}}{{legend|#fbb7bb|State or district has a Cook PVI between EVEN and R+2}}{{legend|#f47178|State or district has a Cook PVI between R+2 and R+5}}{{legend|#e4252f|State or district has a Cook PVI between R+5 and R+10}}{{legend|#9e151e|State or district has a Cook PVI of R+10 or greater}}]]

In [[United States politics]], a '''swing state''' (also known as '''battleground state''', '''toss-up state''', or '''purple state''') is any state that could reasonably be won by either the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] or [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to [[United States presidential election|presidential elections]], by a [[Swing (politics)|swing]] in votes. These states are usually targeted by both [[Political campaign|major-party campaigns]], especially in competitive elections.<ref name="the-only-thing-that-matters">{{Cite web|url=http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/the-only-thing-that-matters/|first1=Larry J. |last1=Sabato |first2=Kyle |last2=Kondik |first3=Geoffrey |last3=Skelley |department=Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball |title=The Electoral College: The Only Thing That Matters|website=Center For Politics|date=March 31, 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=January 27, 2017}}</ref> Meanwhile, the states that regularly lean to a single party are known as "safe states" (or more specifically as [[Red states and blue states|"red states" and "blue states"]] depending on the partisan leaning), as it is generally assumed that one candidate has a base of support from which a sufficient share of the electorate can be drawn without significant investment or effort by the campaign. In the [[2024 United States presidential election]], seven states were widely considered to be the crucial swing states: [[Arizona]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Michigan]], [[Nevada]], [[North Carolina]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[Wisconsin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c511pyn3xw3o |title=Seven swing states set to decide the 2024 US election |date=November 2, 2024 |access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://usafacts.org/articles/what-are-the-current-swing-states-and-how-have-they-changed-over-time/ |title=What are the current swing states, and how have they changed over time? |publisher=USAFacts |date=August 7, 2024 |access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref>

Due to the [[Plurality voting|winner-take-all]] method that most states use to determine their [[Electoral College (United States)|presidential electors]], candidates often campaign only in competitive states, which is why a select group of states frequently receives a majority of the advertisements and candidate visits.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter|last1=Beachler|first1=Donald W.|last2=Bergbower|first2=Matthew L.|last3=Cooper|first3=Chris|last4=Damore|first4=David F.|last5=van Doorn|first5=Bas|last6=Foreman|first6=Sean D.|last7=Gill|first7=Rebecca|last8=Hendriks|first8=Henriët|last9=Hoffmann|first9=Donna|date=October 29, 2015|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9780739195246|editor-last=Schultz|editor-first=David|language=en|editor-last2=Hecht|editor-first2=Stacey Hunter}}</ref> The battlegrounds may change in certain [[United States presidential election|election cycles]] and may be reflected in overall polling, demographics, and the [[Political ideologies in the United States|ideological appeal]] of the nominees.