New CNN Road to 270 shows multiple pathways to victory for both Harris and Trump in reshaped race
CNN —
Vice President Kamala Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket has dramatically reshaped the 2024 electoral map since earlier this year, when the contest looked to be between an unpopular and elderly incumbent president and the former president (and now convicted felon) he defeated four years prior.
The moves we are making in this latest installment of our “Road to 270” electoral map are all in a positive direction for Harris and suggest she has more potential paths to 270 electoral votes than President Joe Biden had when he was the party’s standard-bearer. This current outlook reverts the state of play to where it was in the closing days of the 2020 campaign, with seven battleground states (and one congressional district in Nebraska) as the central turf upon which the candidates and their campaigns will dedicate most of their time and money to win the White House. In the four weeks since Biden ended his presidential bid, those seven states have seen a combined $240 million in advertising spending, according to AdImpact, with an almost even split between Democrats and Republicans.
SEE CNN’S ROAD TO 270 INTERACTIVE MAP
Our previous electoral outlook had former President Donald Trump with a clear advantage in the quest for 270 electoral votes. That advantage has evaporated with Harris’ entrance into the race and her rapid success at unifying the Democratic Party and restoring political strength with some key constituencies (voters of color, young voters, female voters) which have been part of recent winning coalitions for Democratic candidates. Despite the momentum shift, it is important to note that this race has snapped back to a margin-of-error contest with no current clear leader. Both Trump and