It was 8 September 1960. Democratic Party’s presidential candidate John F. Kennedy reached Oregon state of America for campaign. Here supporters surrounded him. Kennedy saw something in the crowd of his fans that brought a smile on his face. Actually, some of Kennedy’s supporters had brought 2 donkeys with them. Kennedy caressed the donkeys and praised those who brought them. In the same election, Richard Nixon was the Republican candidate against Kennedy. When he reached Hawaii for campaign, he was welcomed at the airport itself with a big elephant made of paper. Nixon praised the person who made the elephant. Donkeys and elephants are an important part of American elections, apart from these, these 3 colors purple, red and blue have also been the identity of US elections for 24 years, interesting stories of American politics in 3 chapters Chapter-1 When did elephant and donkey become part of American elections It was the year 1828. Andrew Jackson was the candidate from the Democratic Party in the US presidential election. He was pitted against John Adams of the Whig Party. To win the election, Jackson made some such promises which Adams made fun of. Adams started calling Jackson jackass by distorting his name. Jackson took it as a challenge and started printing the picture of a donkey in his election posters. Jackson won that election as well. After this, the Democrats started making donkeys a part of their election campaign. Then came the year 1860. It was the election year in America. Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was leading very strongly in the state of Illinois. To make Lincoln look impressive, newspapers started printing the picture of an elephant in his place. This was the first time when the Republican Party was depicted as an elephant. However, the most important role in identifying the Democratic Party as a donkey and the Republican Party as an elephant was played by America’s famous cartoonist Thomas Nest. In the 1870s, he used the cartoon of a donkey for the Democratic Party and an elephant for the Republican Party. The result was that both the parties made the donkey and the elephant their permanent identity, which continues till date. Chapter-2 How American politics got divided into red and blue. In India, the mention of saffron colour immediately brings to mind the Bharatiya Janata Party, red colour for the leftists and blue for the Bahujan Samaj Party. Their ideology is of great significance behind this. However, this is not the case in America. There is no ideology behind the colour of parties in America. This division of colours between the two parties is only 24 years old. According to CNN, colours had no special significance in politics till a few decades ago because TV and newspapers were black and white. Later, with the advent of colour TV and magazines, colours began to be used. But, then all media houses used them according to their own convenience. In the 1976 elections, ABC channel had shown the Republican Party in yellow colour and in the 1980 elections, it was shown in red colour. At the same time, the Democratic Party was shown in red and sometimes in blue colour. In the 2000 elections, for the first time, the entire media of America had shown the Republican Party in red and the Democratic Party in blue colour. Actually, there was a close contest between the two parties in this election. The result of this election between Republican candidate George Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore was declared after 36 days. The victory or defeat of the two candidates could not be decided due to the results of Florida. The matter went to court. During this time, to make it easier for people to understand the results, all channels and newspapers agreed that they would identify the Republican Party with red and the Democratic Party with blue. Since then, these two colors became the identity of the parties in America. Since then, the states which mostly make the Republican Party win are called red states and those which make the Democratic Party win are called blue states. For example, Texas is a red state and California is blue. Chapter- 3 How purple i.e. swing states turn the game between red and blue In the division of red and blue colors, there are some states which are called purple states. These are the states where there is a close contest between the two parties. Apart from purple states, they are also called swing states because they can swing towards any party, i.e. they can turn the tables. There are a total of 538 electoral votes i.e. seats in the 50 states of America and the capital Washington DC. There are 93 seats in the swing state alone, while Trump or Kamala need to win 270 seats to win the election. In such a situation, the swing states decide the President of America. Pennsylvania – The swing state with the highest number of votes Pennsylvania has the highest number of 19 electoral seats among the swing states. This is the reason why both the parties have campaigned the most in this state. According to BBC, in the last few weeks, advertisements worth Rs 2.4 thousand crores have been shown in this state, which is the highest compared to other states. The Republican Party has won only once in Pennsylvania from 1992 to 2020. In the year 2016, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 0.7% votes. In the 2020 elections, Biden defeated Trump here by a margin of just 1.2%. North Carolina- Where Kamala’s party could win only one election in 40 years, the Republican Party has dominated North Carolina. From 1980 to 2020, the Democratic Party has won only once in 2008. Then Barack Obama defeated Republican candidate John McCain by just 14,177 votes (0.32%). In the 2020 election, Trump defeated Biden here by about 74 thousand votes (1.34%). This is the only state out of the current 7 swing states where Trump won the last election. However, due to the decreasing vote margin between the two parties in the last few elections, North Carolina has been placed in the category of swing state this time. Wisconsin- Trump said – If you win here, then consider that you have won everything. Wisconsin has been a blue state for a long time. From 1988 to 2020, the Republican Party was able to win here only once in 2016. Trump had won here by just 22,748 (0.77%) votes. At the same time, the Democratic Party made a comeback here in the 2020 elections, but the margin of victory was only 0.63%. Due to this close contest of victory and defeat, Wisconsin has become a battleground state. Both parties are trying hard to win here. The Republican Party’s National Convention was held in Milwaukee in July. It is in Wisconsin. According to the BBC, Trump had said the importance of this state that if he wins Wisconsin, he will win everything. The Democratic Party also knows the importance of Wisconsin. Just 2 days after Biden left the presidential race, Kamala held her first rally in Wisconsin. Kamala had then said that the way to the White House goes through Wisconsin. According to the report, the biggest problem of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin is Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Stein is also a contender for the US presidency. Many surveys have claimed that she can get 1% (about 10,000) votes in this election. This can make a big difference in a state like Wisconsin. This is the reason why the Democratic Party has tried its best to remove Jill. The Democratic Party has complained to the Election Commission that Jill Stein’s candidature is illegal. She has not followed the election rules properly. Actually, the ideology of the Green Party is a little closer to the ideology of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is most harmed by the presence of the Green Party. Nevada – Swing state with the least number of seats The Democratic Party has won from Nevada in the last 4 elections. However, the margin of votes here has been less in the last two elections. In the last election, Biden defeated Trump by about 2.5% votes. At the same time, in the 2016 election, Hillary defeated Trump by 3.4% votes. Due to the low margin in the last 2 elections, Nevada has been placed in the category of swing state this time. Even though this swing state has the least number of electoral votes, i.e. 6. Despite this, since 2004, the party that has won this desert state has won the presidential election. According to The Guardian, Nevada has the highest unemployment compared to any US state. Donald Trump has been raising the issue of economy for some time now. At the same time, the Democratic Party is taking credit for rescuing the country from Corona. Arizona – The stronghold of the Republican Party turned around in 2020 Arizona has been the stronghold of the Republican Party. From 1952 to 2020, the Democratic Party has won only twice. Clinton won here for the first time in 1996 and Biden in the last election. However, he won by just 10,457 votes (0.3%). Actually, Arizona is a state adjacent to Mexico. In the last few decades, people who came from other countries via Mexico have settled in Arizona. According to the US Census Bureau, in the year 1996, White Americans in Arizona were 67.6%. In 2024, it has come down to 52.9%. At the same time, the Hispanic (Spanish-speaking South American) population, which was 22.4% in 1996, has now become 32.9%. The Democratic Party’s policy is pro-migrant. In such a situation, it has benefited from this change in demography. Trump has made the migrant problem the biggest issue this time. He had also raised this issue in the last two debates. Apart from this, he is raising this issue in almost every speech. Georgia – Where Biden stopped the Republican Party from winning for the seventh time Georgia used to be a stronghold of the Democratic Party. From 1868 to 1956, the Democratic Party won the election here 27 times in a row. Then in the nineties, the Republican Party dominated here. In the 2020 elections, the Republican Party came out to win Georgia for the seventh time in a row, but could not do so. Biden defeated Trump by 11,779 (0.23%) votes. This is the reason why Georgia, which was a red state, became a swing state in the last election. Last year, Trump was arrested in Georgia itself. He had to go to jail for 20 minutes. Actually, Trump was accused of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Michigan – Muslim voters are angry with the Democratic Party, will get the support of black voters. From 1992 to 2020, the Republican Party won in Michigan only once (2016). In the 2016 election, Trump won here by just 10,704 (0.23%). In the 2020 election, Trump lost here by about 1.5 lakh votes. There are about 1 lakh Arab-American Muslims in Wayne, Michigan. They are angry with the conflict going on in Gaza. More than 1 lakh voters chose the ‘none’ option in the Democratic Party’s primary contest. Actually, these voters were angry with the US giving weapons to Israel and not being able to stop the war in Gaza. Trump is also eyeing Michigan. According to BBC, Trump has criticized the Democratic government many times over the war in Gaza. Trump said that if he becomes the President, he will stop the war in Gaza. In early August, Kamala Harris visited Michigan. She faced a lot of opposition here. Kamala expressed her displeasure over this and said that if you want Trump to win the election, then oppose me. There are 74% white Americans in Michigan. There are about 14% black voters. Last time Biden got the support of black voters. With Kamala Harris being the contender, black voters can once again show trust in the Democratic Party. …………………………………………………… To know more about the American elections, read this news too… Why voting in America only on Tuesday: If something happens to the President, why are 18 people always ready for the chair? There are 50 states in America. Like India, there too the seats of every state are fixed according to the population. Just like there are 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, similarly there are 54 electoral votes in California. Suppose in the 2024 elections, Kamala Harris’s party wins 30 seats in California and Trump 24 seats. In such a situation, all 54 electoral votes here will go to Kamala Harris. There is a rule of ‘winner takes all’, that is, the one who comes number-1 gets all the seats of the state. This is the reason why Donald Trump became the President even after getting 28.6 lakh less votes than Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections. Read the full news here…
