Professor prediction Thursday, November 5, 2020
Political science professor explains what may happen in the 2020 election
Ryan Novozinsky Despite the general election occurring and polls closing on Nov. 3, the United States still doesn’t have an answer on its next president. The O’Colly recently Claire Boomer spoke to Dr. Chad Hankinson, a former politiStillwater residents line up at the Stillwater Community Center to vote on cal science professor at the first day of early voting in Oklahoma on October 29, 2020 in Stillwater, Oklahoma State UniOklahoma.
versity who left OSU to work at Virginia Tech this semester. Hankinson was able to share his insight on who could potentially win the election: Hankinson on what Biden has to his advantage: “This is a tough call. When I really try to think about this through the more traditional measures, there’s definitely things that bode well for Joe Biden in terms of these markers of
how he fairs on the issues that people really think are important. Looking at the polls coming into the election, he’s been doing pretty well nationally, pretty well in a lot of competitive states and even turning some states that seemed uncompetitive just a few months ago to being in the conversation as being competitive states.” See Predictions on page 2
Trump, Biden locked in closer race than expected. What to take away from the results so far By Alex Roarty and David Catanese
McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — A tumultuous election night yielded no definitive result between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, with both candidates locked in razor-thin races in a slate of battleground states that were expected to continue tallying votes into Wednesday and possibly beyond. Contests in North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin were all uncalled as of early Wednesday morning, with officials scrambling to count both ballots cast Nov. 3 and a surge of ballots sent through the mail. Of the major swing states, The Associated Press had called Florida for Trump and Arizona for Biden early Wednesday. The AP also called Iowa, Ohio and Texas for the president and Minnesota for Biden, though those states were considered second-tier battlegrounds. Biden also flipped the electoral vote in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, according to the AP, which could be pivotal in a close race. Election officials said they expected delayed results in many states, especially in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, three Midwestern states that could ultimately determine the outcome. In some Pennsylvania counties, for instance, local
officials said they planned to not even begin counting those ballots until Wednesday morning. “We believe we’re on track to win this election,” Biden told a drivein crowd in Wilmington, Delaware, early Wednesday morning. “We’re confident about Arizona, that’s a turnaround. We’re still in the game in Georgia, although that’s not what we expected.” He added, “We’re going to win Pennsylvania.” That Biden did not immediately appear the victor, as polls indicated he might, is a deep disappointment to Democrats. And it will bolster Republican arguments that Trump was never as big an underdog as was widely believed, even as his path to reelection remained narrow. Speaking from the White House, Trump went further, falsely claiming that ballots still being counted were fraudulent and declaring victories in states that had not yet been called by a news outlet. “We were getting ready to win this election,” he declared, complaining about the lack of full results, even though election officials have warned for weeks that counting in certain states would take days. “Frankly, we did this election,” the president incorrectly added. There’s still a long way to go before the results are finalized, but here are three takeaways from the initial returns: NO BLUE WAVE (OR RED WAVE) While a 2020 presidential election victor remains unclear, it’s now
Claire Boomer A sign reads 'Vote Here' on the Wes Watkins' doors on November 3, 2020 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
readily apparent that the results won’t create the blue wave that Democrats were increasingly hoping for entering Tuesday. It will not prove to be a red wave, either. It’s another closely contested national election that defied polling, surprised analysts but tracked closely with what most Americans are getting used to: A
relatively evenly split country, divided by deep blue cities and increasingly reddening rural areas. Whereas Trump held onto several key states he carried in 2016, like Florida, Iowa and Ohio, battlegrounds like Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin remained too close to call, with just a few percentage points separating the candi-
dates While it was not the evening of numbers some Democrats were anticipating, it could still turn out to be a significant victory. It will just take days to know.
See Locked In on page 2