These are the battleground states that decided the 2024 election
In the 2024 presidential election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the race came down seven battleground states — any of which had the potential to swing to either the Democrats or Republicans. Trump's projected wins in all seven of them put him over the top in the Electoral College.
Both Harris and Trump made repeated visits to these seven competitive states, where CBS News polling showed the candidates were virtually tied in the lead-up to Election Day after a hard-fought campaign.
List of battleground states in the 2024 presidential election
CBS News considers these the battleground states in the 2024 presidential election:
Who won each of the seven battleground states?
CBS News has projected Trump as the winner in each of the battleground states — first North Carolina, then Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and finally Arizona — enough for a comeback victory after his 2020 loss.
What to know about the battleground states
Arizona has 11 electoral votes. Trump won Arizona in 2016, but then lost it narrowly to President Biden in 2020.
Georgia has 16 electoral votes. Trump won the state in 2016, but in 2020, Mr. Biden beat him by fewer than 12,000 votes — the first time a Democratic candidate had won the state since Bill Clinton in 1992. Allegations that Trump and more than a dozen allies engaged in a criminal conspiracy to overturn Georgia's 2020 results are now at the center of an election interference case in Fulton County; Trump denies wrongdoing.
Michigan's 15 electoral votes went to Trump in 2016 after almost three decades of supporting Democrats for president. The state flipped in 2020, with Mr. Biden taking the win. Michigan is part of the so-called "blue wall" of Midwestern states considered crucial for Democrats. Rep. Debbie Dingell recently said she believes her state will remain competitive until the last vote is counted on Election Day.
Nevada has voted Democratic for the past four presidential elections. With six electoral votes, Nevada has the smallest total of the seven presidential battleground states.
North Carolina is still dealing with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Both candidates have visited since the storm. Democrats have won the state's 16 electoral votes only twice since 1968, most recently in 2008 when voters backed Barack Obama. Trump edged out Mr. Biden in the state in 2020 by a little more than 1 point, and also bested Hillary Clinton in the state in 2016.
Pennsylvania, with its 19 electoral votes, is a critical battleground for Harris and Trump. Mr. Biden took the state in 2020, while Trump won there in 2016. Harris and Trump have visited the state at least 20 times each in the months leading up to the election. Both candidates made stops in Pennsylvania on Monday as part of their final pushes on the eve of Election Day. Trump held a rally in Reading and another in Pittsburgh, while Harris made stops in Allentown, Reading and Pittsburgh before she held her final campaign event before Election Day in Philadelphia.
Wisconsin voters backed Democrats for decades until 2016, when Trump flipped the state and secured its 10 electoral votes. Voters swung back in 2020, when Mr. Biden won the state. The state was decided by less than 1% in the last two elections.
Final polling from battleground states
CBS News' Battleground Tracker showed a virtual tie between Harris and Trump in these states right up until the end of the 2024 campaign. Estimates are based on CBS News/YouGov polling and analysis.
The findings below also include Nebraska's competitive 2nd Congressional District; Nebraska is one of two states, along with Maine, that allows splitting up its electoral votes.
What is a battleground state, technically?
A battleground state — sometimes known as a swing state — has a population of voters who are almost evenly divided politically heading into the election. While many states vote fairly consistently for either Democrats or Republicans, both parties see a chance to win in the battlegrounds and invest a huge amount of money and time into campaigning in these states.
How have battleground states shifted over the years?
Here's who voters in battleground states backed in past elections:
Arizona:
- 2020: Joe Biden (Democrat)
- 2016: Donald Trump (Republican)
- 2012: Mitt Romney (Republican)
- 2008: John McCain (Republican)
- 2004: George W. Bush (Republican)
- 2000: George W. Bush (Republican)
Georgia:
- 2020: Joe Biden (Democrat)
- 2016: Donald Trump (Republican)
- 2012: Mitt Romney (Republican)
- 2008: John McCain (Republican)
- 2004: George W. Bush (Republican)
- 2000: George W. Bush (Republican)
Michigan:
- 2020: Joe Biden (Democrat)
- 2016: Donald Trump (Republican)
- 2012: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2008: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2004: John Kerry (Democrat)
- 2000: Al Gore (Democrat)
Nevada:
- 2020: Joe Biden (Democrat)
- 2016: Hillary Clinton (Democrat)
- 2012: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2008: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2004: George W. Bush (Republican)
- 2000: George W. Bush (Republican)
North Carolina:
- 2020: Donald Trump (Republican)
- 2016: Donald Trump (Republican)
- 2012: Mitt Romney (Republican)
- 2008: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2004: George W. Bush (Republican)
- 2000: George W. Bush (Republican)
Pennsylvania:
- 2020: Joe Biden (Democrat)
- 2016: Donald Trump (Republican)
- 2012: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2008: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2004: John Kerry (Democrat)
- 2000: Al Gore (Democrat)
Wisconsin:
- 2020: Joe Biden (Democrat)
- 2016: Donald Trump (Republican)
- 2012: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2008: Barack Obama (Democrat)
- 2004: John Kerry (Democrat)
- 2000: Al Gore (Democrat)