The Electoral College Map (10/31/16)

New State Polls (10/31/16)
State	Poll	Date	Margin of Error	Sample	Clinton	Trump	Undecided	Poll Margin	FHQ Margin
Colorado	Remington	10/30	+/-3.17%	952 likely voters	45	44	4	+1	+4.01
Florida	Remington	10/30	+/-3.11%	989 likely voters	44	48	4	+4	+2.08
Georgia	Survey USA	10/25-10/27	+/-4.1%	594 likely voters	42	49	6	+7	+2.89
Indiana	Monmouth	10/27-10/30	+/-4.9%	402 likely voters	39	50	5	+11	+9.56
Nevada	Remington	10/30	+/-3.49%	787 likely voters	44	48	3	+4	+1.02
North Carolina	Remington	10/30	+/-2.85%	1176 likely voters	44	47	4	+2	+1.74
Ohio	Remington	10/30	+/-2.84%	1187 likely voters	43	48	5	+5	+0.52
Pennsylvania	Gravis	10/25-10/30	+/-1.7%	3217 likely voters	47	44	4	+3	--
Pennsylvania	Remington	10/30	+/-2.77%	1249 likely voters	45	43	6	+2	+5.40
Virginia	Remington	10/30	+/-2.94%	1106 likely voters	47	43	5	+4	+6.81
Wisconsin	Remington	10/30	+/-2.86%	1772 likely voters	46	42	5	+4	+6.44

Polling Quick Hits:
8 days until Election Day.

At first glance, there is a bit of a rightward shift. At first glance. The bulk of the polling ushering in the new week is from Remington in a set of eight battlegrounds. But following the baseline the firm established a week ago, there was little change; even in a series of surveys in the field after the Friday revelations concerning the FBI and emails potentially linked to Clinton. That is not to say that the race is not in the midst of a bit of a narrowing period or that another email story will not have an effect, but there are not clear signs of that yet from the state level polls.


Colorado:
Clinton has consistently been in the mid-40s in Colorado. The question remains whether Trump can pull above and away from the 40 percent mark. The Remington survey is some evidence that he can, but will that happen across other polls in the Centennial state over the next week? Consistency is the name of the game there.


Florida:
Trump has not been as high as 48 percent in a multi-way poll all year in Florida. Ahead, yes, but not that close to 50 percent. That Remington finds him there is exception rather than rule. Clinton in the mid-40s is more typical.


Georgia:
Survey USA has not been in the field in the Peach state since just after convention season and Clinton is still stuck at 42 percent, just below Obama's share of support there in 2012. Meanwhile, Trump has bumped up to near 50 percent. That is a newish development in multi-way Georgia polls. Newish because Opinion Savvy had Trump stretching up to around that mark last week. Those types of polls make Georgia look a lot more like 2012 again with perhaps a modest shift toward the Democrats.


Indiana:
In two and half weeks the Monmouth polls in Indiana have shifted toward Trump. Like the typical lean state (on either side of the partisan line) the leading candidate is in the mid- to upper 40s while the trailing candidate is tethered to the 40 percent threshold. Clinton is that trailing candidate in the Hoosier state and Trump-Pence seem well-positioned in the VP nominee's home state.


Nevada:
Remington is the only firm to find Trump at or above 47 percent in a multiple candidate survey all year in the Silver state. There is some wiggle room in Nevada since that level has been foreign territory for both candidates. It would not be odd to see support moving away from undecided and the third party candidates as Election Day approaches. Remington may be the first to show that moving toward Trump, but they are alone in a close state just a hair more than a point overall in Clinton's favor.


North Carolina:
In the Tar Heel state, Remington is the only firm to find Trump ahead in the time since the first debate. The data may be turning but are not there yet.


Ohio:
Consistently variable Ohio has shifted into a period during the second half of October favoring Trump. The established range in the polling during that time is tied to Trump +5. This Remington survey is on the upper end of that range while FHQ's average in the Buckeye state is closing in on a tie. The trajectory of this one is in Trump's direction and it could cross over the partisan line in the next week.


Pennsylvania:
Trump still has not trailed in a Pennsylvania poll in 2016. The margin has contracted some here at FHQ as the space between the candidates in the Keystone state has narrowed, but it will have to close a lot more and consistently and frequently over the next week to change course in a state that has been out of Trump's reach and almost necessary to getting to 270.


Virginia:
Virginia has been even more impervious to Trump's entreaties than Pennsylvania has. That is true even in a series of Republican-leaning polls.


Wisconsin:
The Badger state is somewhere in between Pennsylvania and Virginia both in term of outlook and its position on the Electoral College Spectrum below. It is very simply the classic Lean state this cycle, and in this case, Trump is the trailing candidate stuck around 40 percent.

--
Changes (10/31/16)
Nothing changed on the map, Spectrum or Watch List from a day ago.

NOTE: A description of the methodology behind the graduated weighted average of 2016 state-level polling that FHQ uses for these projections can be found here.

The Electoral College Spectrum1
MD-102 (13)	RI-4 (162)	PA-20 (263)	TX-38 (161)	TN-11 (61)
HI-4 (17)	NJ-14 (176)	CO-94 (272 | 275)	MO-10 (123)	AR-6 (50)
VT-3 (20)	OR-7 (183)	FL-29 (301 | 266)	SC-9 (113)	ND-3 (44)
MA-11 (31)	NM-5 (188)	NC-15 (316 | 237)	UT-6 (104)	KY-8 (41)
CA-55 (86)	MN-10 (198)	NV-6 (322 | 222)	IN-11 (98)	NE-53 (33)
NY-29 (115)	ME-23 (200)	OH-18 (340 | 216)	MS-6 (87)	AL-9 (28)
IL-20+13 (136)	MI-16 (216)	IA-6 (198)	KS-6 (81)	ID-4 (19)
DE-3 (139)	VA-13 (229)	AZ-11 (192)	SD-3 (75)	WV-5 (15)
WA-12 (151)	WI-10 (239)	GA-16+13 (181)	LA-8 (72)	OK-7 (10)
CT-7 (158)	NH-4 (243)	AK-3 (164)	MT-3 (64)	WY-3 (3)
1 Follow the link for a detailed explanation on how to read the Electoral College Spectrum. 2 The numbers in the parentheses refer to the number of electoral votes a candidate would have if he or she won all the states ranked prior to that state. If, for example, Trump won all the states up to and including Colorado (all Clinton's toss up states plus Colorado), he would have 275 electoral votes. Trump's numbers are only totaled through the states he would need in order to get to 270. In those cases, Clinton's number is on the left and Trumps's is on the right in bold italics. To keep the figure to 50 cells, Washington, DC and its three electoral votes are included in the beginning total on the Democratic side of the spectrum. The District has historically been the most Democratic state in the Electoral College. 3 Maine and Nebraska allocate electoral college votes to candidates in a more proportional manner. The statewide winner receives the two electoral votes apportioned to the state based on the two US Senate seats each state has. Additionally, the winner within a congressional district is awarded one electoral vote. Given current polling, all five Nebraska electoral votes would be allocated to Trump. In Maine, a split seems more likely. Trump leads in Maine's second congressional district while Clinton is ahead statewide and in the first district. She would receive three of the four Maine electoral votes and Trump the remaining electoral vote. Those congressional district votes are added approximately where they would fall in the Spectrum above. 4 Colorado is the state where Clinton crosses the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidential election. That line is referred to as the victory line. Currently, Colorado is in the Toss Up Clinton category.

NOTE: Distinctions are made between states based on how much they favor one candidate or another. States with a margin greater than 10 percent between Clinton and Trump are "Strong" states. Those with a margin of 5 to 10 percent "Lean" toward one of the two (presumptive) nominees. Finally, states with a spread in the graduated weighted averages of both the candidates' shares of polling support less than 5 percent are "Toss Up" states. The darker a state is shaded in any of the figures here, the more strongly it is aligned with one of the candidates. Not all states along or near the boundaries between categories are close to pushing over into a neighboring group. Those most likely to switch -- those within a percentage point of the various lines of demarcation -- are included on the Watch List below.

The Watch List1
State	Switch
Alaska	from Lean Trump	to Toss Up Trump
Colorado	from Toss Up Clinton	to Lean Clinton
Indiana	from Lean Trump	to Strong Trump
Iowa	from Toss Up Trump	to Toss Up Clinton
Mississippi	from Strong Trump	to Lean Trump
Ohio	from Toss Up Clinton	to Toss Up Trump
Oregon	from Lean Clinton	to Strong Clinton
Pennsylvania	from Lean Clinton	to Toss Up Clinton
Utah	from Lean Trump	to Strong Trump
1 Graduated weighted average margin within a fraction of a point of changing categories.

Recent Posts:
The Electoral College Map (10/30/16)

The Electoral College Map (10/29/16)

The Electoral College Map (10/28/16)

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