The electoral college has been a stacked deck against republicans. The last few election cycles have been the republicans will win all of these small states BUT if they don’t win these two or three (swing states) they lose either way. I’ve never heard a commentator say the dems could lose if...
Faithless electors are a distinct possibility this election. I believe that they may have been threatened or bought off.
That doesn't really tell the whole story, though. Demographic changes have diminished the importance of many traditionally Democratic states. New York, for example, was once the largest state in the U.S. by population. It peaked at 47 electoral votes in 1932, and maintained that position through the 1948 election. It has been dropping consistently since then. It is now ranked #4 in population among U.S. states, and has had only 29 electoral votes since the 2010 census.
Pennsylvania's decline has been even more dramatic, from a high of 38 electoral votes (1912-1928) to only 20 today.
The Republicans just have to get smarter about winning these fast-growing states that have seen an influx of migrants from other places in the last few decades -- like Florida, North Carolina and Colorado.
“The electoral college has been a stacked deck against republicans.”
Without the Electoral College, President Al Gore would have taken the oath of office in January 2001 instead of George W. Bush. Bush lost the popular vote nationally.