Editor’s note: Polling results are often described as snapshots at a particular moment of time in a campaign. This, however, is more of a doodle, aggregating election projections from various sources, some that rely entirely on polling while others also take into consideration factors such as demographics and voting histories. This feature will be updated on a periodic basis to show you what’s being scribbled in the margins as the 2020 presidential campaign moves from chapter to chapter.
With six weeks left in the race, projection models continue to show Democrat Joe Biden in the lead in this year’s presidential election.
Going past that initial observation, though, you’ll see the numbers are like the hash browns at Waffle House: scattered.
Five of the 15 models we first tracked here three weeks ago show Biden building on his lead by as much as 28 electoral votes to as little as 2. Five other models show President Donald Trump narrowing his deficit in the Electoral College by as many as 58 votes to as few as 18. The remaining five models have held steady.
Biden’s average total on the models has shifted little, but it has gone downward, from 288 to 285 – the equivalent of losing his beloved Delaware. His totals range from 222 on the RealClearPolitics site, which is significantly more conservative in its predictions than its 14 rivals, to 335 on the Princeton Election Consortium.
Over the same time, Trump’s average has climbed by 5 votes, from 172 to 177 – as if he picked up New Mexico, which he did not. His totals range from 125 over at RealClearPolitics to 248 at PredictIt.
Naturally, there’s also been little shift in the number of votes up for grabs in toss-up states, from 78 at the beginning of this month to 76 now. That would be equal to winning each of the single congressional districts in Maine and Nebraska – states with the potential to divide their electoral votes and make the prediction game just a little trickier.
Biden remains on top in each of the models we’re tracking. But five don’t give him the minimum 270 electoral votes he would need on Nov. 3 – or in the days that follow in the event of a lengthy count – before thinking about moving into that unique fixer-upper at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. One of the five, NPR, even had him in position to win three weeks ago but has since moved him below the threshold.
So the race remains unsettled.
Now, what do you want to go with those hash browns?
Projections as of noon Monday:
270toWin consensus map (last updated Monday): Biden, 278; Trump, 169; Toss-up, 91 – No change since Aug. 31
270toWin polling map (updated three times daily): Biden, 281; Trump, 119; Toss-up 138 – Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 275; Trump, 119; Toss-up, 144
Biden expands lead by 6 electoral votes to 162.
270toWin polling with no toss-ups (a new feature that updates three times daily): Biden, 335; Trump, 203
CNN (last updated Sunday): Biden, 269, Trump, 169; Toss-up, 100 – Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 268; Trump, 170; Toss-up, 100
Biden expands lead by 2 electoral votes to 100.
Cook Political Report (last updated Sept. 17): Biden, 290; Trump, 187; Toss-up, 61 – Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 308; Trump, 187; Toss-up, 43
Shift of 18 electoral votes to toss-up narrows Biden lead to 103.
The Economist (updated twice daily): Biden, 308; Trump, 188; Toss-up, 42 Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 308; Trump, 170; Toss-up, 60
Trump narrows lead by 18 electoral votes to 120.
FiveThirtyEight (updated every two hours): Biden, 289; Trump, 169; Toss-up, 80 – Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 278; Trump, 186; Toss-up, 74
Biden expands lead by 28 electoral votes to 120.
Inside Elections (last updated Sept. 18): Biden, 319; Trump, 187; Toss-up, 32 – No change since Aug. 31
Niskanen Center (last updated Sept. 15): Biden, 318; Trump 123; Toss-up, 97 – Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 318; Trump, 125; Toss-up, 95
Shift of 2 electoral votes to toss-up expands Biden lead to 195.
NPR (last updated Sept. 16): Biden, 268, Trump, 169; Toss-up, 101; Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 297; Trump, 170; Toss-up, 71
Shift of 30 electoral votes to toss-up helps narrow Biden’s lead to 99.
Politico (last updated Sept. 8): Biden, 268; Trump, 203; Toss-up, 67 – No change since Aug. 31
PredictIt (updated every four hours): Biden, 290; Trump, 248; Toss-up, none* -- Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 319; Trump, 219; Toss-up, none*
Trump narrows lead by 58 electoral votes to 42.
Princeton Election Consortium: Biden, 335; Trump, 203; Toss-up, none – Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 325; Trump, 170; Toss-up, 43
Trump narrows lead by 23 electoral votes to 132.
RealClearPolitics (last updated Sept. 14): Biden, 222, Trump, 125; Toss-up, 191 Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 212; Trump, 115; Toss-up, 211
Biden’s lead holds at 97 electoral votes.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball (last updated Monday): Biden, 269; Trump, 203; Toss-up, 66; Totals on Aug. 31: Biden, 268; Trump, 204; Toss-up, 66
Biden expands lead by 2 electoral votes to 66.
U.S. News (last updated July 9): Biden, 278; Trump, 186; Toss-up, 74 – No change since Aug. 31.
*PredictIt doesn’t do toss-ups except for equal results, while most other sites define toss-ups as difference between candidates falling within 5 percentage points
Where does Georgia stand
Georgia’s status as a battleground in this election remains firm – as reflected in this morning’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, which gauged support in the state for both Trump and Biden at 47%.
The projection models back that up. Three weeks ago, six of the models identified the state’s 16 votes in the Electoral College as up for grabs. That has since increased to nine models.
What are the other toss-up states?
On its consensus map, 270toWin shows no change on toss-up states. Its list of battlegrounds, in addition to Georgia, still remains short, with just Florida (29 Electoral College votes), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15) and Arizona (11). Also up for grabs are one congressional district each in Maine and Nebraska. All those states voted for Trump in 2016.
On RealClearPolitics, there was some movement among the toss-ups: Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes moved to Biden’s camp, and Missouri, also with 10 votes, headed to Trump’s column. Still up for grabs are: Texas (38), Florida (29), Pennsylvania (20), Ohio (18), Michigan (16), North Carolina (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10), Iowa (6), Nevada (6) and New Hampshire (4), plus the individual congressional districts in Maine and Nebraska. Only two of those toss-up states — New Hampshire and Nevada — did not vote for Trump in 2016.
About the Author