State Your Opinion

Yesterday, I saw one of those maps of the United States that rated each state according to Trump’s approval in handling the coronavirus crisis.  It's from 270toWin.com.  They broke down every state by Safe, Likely and Lean.  (I couldn't find their explanation of what constituted each category, but from other such maps it's usually done by what they've determined is a specific margin.)  If you just went by “Safe,” the Democrats "win" 311 Electoral votes.  If you went by Safe and Likely, they had 415 Electoral votes. 

Now, obviously, this isn't real.  Moreover, it isn't based on normal approval, just approval on the handling of the coronavirus.  It's on the edge of meaningless.  Actually, it is meaningless when it comes to determining who'll win or lose the election.  But it has a certain meaning to get a focus on how the country is thinking at the moment, state by state.  And ultimately, it’s a whole lot better to have your starting point on the side that shows 415 than being the side that points to 133.