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The Comeback Kid: Donald Trump on Election Day in 2016

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2018

Seth C. McKee
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University
Daniel A. Smith
Affiliation:
University of Florida
M. V. (Trey) Hood III
Affiliation:
University of Georgia

Abstract

The surprise outcome of the 2016 presidential election continues to raise more questions as experts grapple with the evidence for why most prognosticators considered a Hillary Clinton victory almost certain. This article uses the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study data to show that a primary explanation for why the election of Donald Trump was difficult to predict is that the bulk of his support did not materialize until Election Day, in the battleground states that he had to carry to win the Electoral College.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2018 

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