Free Republic

Donald Trump delivered on his promise to flip the Democrats’ electoral hold on the industrial Midwest. Across swing states — and others previously thought to be safe for Democrats — Trump colored dozens of counties red that hadn’t gone Republican in decades. Of the nearly 700 counties that twice sent Obama to the White House, a stunning one-third flipped to support Trump. Trump also won 194 of the 207 counties that voted for Obama either in 2008 or 2012. By contrast, of those 2,200 counties that never supported Obama, Clinton was only able to win six. That’s just 0.3 percent...

The winner of the U.S. presidential election will be determined by about 17 swing counties, with a total of about 500,000 swing voters between them. The American public has heard that 12 swing states will determine who will be the next president. But a book, Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter, by Hamline University Professor David Schultz, who also edits the Journal of Public Affairs Education, predicts a very small number of America’s 3,142 counties and county equivalents will tip the balance. * In Ohio, it’s Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati; * In Pennsylvania, the key counties are Bucks...