How Trump and Harris can get 270 electoral votes. See the cards.

The following scenarios Assume that Trump and Harris will win the states considered “solid,” “likely” or “lean,” according to the Cook Political Report’s ratings for each candidate. By this metric, these maps initially give Harris 226 electoral votes and Trump 219, leaving 93 electoral votes remaining between seven swing states.

Here's a look at some of the paths for both candidates.

With 19, Pennsylvania has the most electoral votes of all swing states and is considered crucial in the electoral landscape. Here, Trump and Harris spent a lot of time and resources trying to win over the state's voters: They did it Visited dozens of times and together Pennsylvania has poured more than half a billion dollars into advertising, making Pennsylvania the most expensive battleground state this cycle, according to an analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Since former President Barack Obama's victory in 2008, Pennsylvania has voted for the winner of the presidential race in every election. Before that, the country had voted for Democrats in every presidential election since 1992.

Multiple paths for Harris and Trump pass through Pennsylvania, and while both can win without the state, those paths are more difficult.

This is especially true for Trump.

If Trump loses Pennsylvania, he will have to win four states in addition to one of the remaining two that he lost in 2020 “Blue Wall” states reach 270 electoral votes. The “blue wall” includes Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, a group that has reliably voted Democratic in several presidential elections through 2012.

Without Pennsylvania, Trump would have to win not only Wisconsin or Michigan but also Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina. Winning the states shown in the map below would give him 283 electoral votes to Harris' 255.

On the other hand, if Harris loses Pennsylvania, she will need 45 electoral votes, which she can achieve through several combinations, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia. That would give her 278 electoral votes and Trump 260.

With Pennsylvania, Harris has multiple opportunities to reach 270 electoral votes by winning just two other battleground states.

Another option is to secure the entire “blue wall”. If Harris wins Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, she could lose the other four battleground states and still reach 270 electoral votes – assuming she also gets a single electoral vote in Nebraska, which the Cook Political Report currently rates as “lean Democrat.” Nebraska is one of two states, along with Maine, where electoral votes are allocated based on congressional districts.

In stark contrast Harris' numerous combinations of three battleground states to reach 270 electoral votes, If Trump only wins three contested states, there is only one path that gets him to 270.

Trump can cross the threshold by winning victories in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. This combination gives exactly 270.

In 2016, Trump notably broke the “blue wall,” winning Pennsylvania, which had 20 electoral votes in that election, as well as Wisconsin and Michigan. He also won North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona with a total of 304 electoral votes.

Nevada was the only current day Battleground state that went to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

In 2020, President Biden defeated Trump by winning six of the seven battleground states and receiving 306 Electoral College votes to Trump's 232.

Biden broke the “blue wall” and won Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Amanda Kaufman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @amandakauf1. Christina Prignano can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @cprignano.