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A purple state is a state where the vote is split between Democratic and Republican candidates, making it a hotspot for electoral contests. It is also known as a swing or battleground state. The electoral college system means candidates can win without winning the popular vote. Politicians aim to attract undecided voters to win a majority. Florida is a famous swing state, and politicians visit often, leaving residents of “safe states” feeling left out.
A purple state is a state with a vote that is typically narrowly split between Democratic and Republican candidates at election time. As a result, such states can become hotspots for electoral contests, with candidates fighting for a majority of votes so they can win. The “purple” in the name is a reference to the fact that when election results come in, states are typically colored red or blue to indicate a win by a Republican or Democratic candidate, and purple is a blend of those two colors.
You may also hear a purple state referred to as a swing state, because the vote can swing either way, or as a battleground state, in reference to candidates sinking serious resources into purple states, often well before an election. The outcome of the vote in such states can become crucial, with most candidates relying on a baseline of reliably voting states and focusing on purple states to fight for victory.
Swing states have become a problem thanks to the electoral college system in the United States, which awards the presidency on a winner-takes-all basis in individual states. For example, if a candidate gets 40% of the vote in Idaho while two other candidates split the remaining 60%, he gets all the electoral votes for that state. Thanks to the electoral college, candidates can win elections without winning the popular vote, and they have no real incentive to increase the number of voters in any given state beyond the majority needed to win.
At issue in a purple state is the fact that citizens have very conflicting values. Often, a county-by-county analysis of a purple state reveals pockets of political sentiment, with some counties being decidedly Republican or Democratic and kind of canceling each other out in a vote. A politician’s goal when dealing with a purple state is to attract people who are undecided about the candidate they want to support, in hopes of getting enough of a majority to take the state.
Various states have been in and out of the purple state. As a general rule, people look at the history of elections in an individual state to determine whether or not it is a swing state. Florida is perhaps one of the most famous swing states of the 21st century, thanks to the strong influence Florida’s tightly divided vote had on the outcome of the 2000 presidential election, but other swing states include Ohio, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia and Missouri, among others.
Typically, a purple state will see a lot of hype ahead of an election, and politicians will make an effort to visit early and often to connect with voters. This can leave residents of so-called “safe states” feeling a bit left out and irritated by the presumption of candidates who assume these states will go to them.
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