Definition of Battleground State

"Battleground states" are also known as "swing states" or "purple states".

"Battleground states" are states where voters are fairly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. This means that a "battleground state" could give the Democrats their electoral votes in one election cycle, and the Republicans their votes in the next.

Due to this propensity to swing back and forth between Republican and Democrat, "battleground states" are also known as "swing states".

Battleground states are vitally important to the outcome of the US Presidential election. If you aren't able to carry most of the "battleground states", you are almost certainly going to lose the election. For this reason, Presidential candidates will spend plenty of time and money trying to carry these states.

Examples of "battleground states" include Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The opposite of a "battleground state"? How about a state like Alaska, which has only voted Democrat once since the 1960 US Presidential election. Alaska is almost certainly going to vote Republican, so both Republican and Democrat candidates will spend their money and time elsewhere. In addition, Alaska only has a handful of electoral votes to offer, while states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania have many more.

--

Davemanuel.com Articles That Mention Battleground State:

Stocks Continue Sell-Off As Investors Continue To Worry Over US Election

US Presidential Election Odds Continue To Narrow as Donald Trump Surges

Barack Obama Wins Second Term

One Week Left: Polls, Polls and More Polls

One More Time: President Obama and Mitt Romney Set To Square Off In Final Presidential Debate