There's a problem for us election result consumers, though; if Pennsylvania is close, it won't be called for days, due to a number of pending absentee ballots which may or may not show up after Election Day and may or may not be challenged. And it looks as though it will be late on the count of the mail-in ballots received by Election Day, anyway.
So,
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Five Ways Biden Can Win Before PA is Called (Viewed as One Play in the Game of Craps)
1) Come Out with a 7. (Florida)
The ideal outcome for a short play. It is only mathematically possible for Trump to win without it, not realistically so. Most likely outcome for FL is very, very close, though it still may be called Election Night, one way or the other. Just don't expect it to Come this way.
2) Roll an 11. (Arizona)
AZ is very much a necessity for Trump, just as Florida is.
There is really only one minor exception from it being mandatory for a Trump victory (see below), unless Trump can pick up two of the Blue Wall states (PA, MI, WI, and MN). The dice will just have to roll around until a bit later in the night for the trend in AZ to show up, and once again, it may not be possible to call a winner. Biden was clearly ahead a couple of weeks ago, but it's tightened.
3) Get the Point (4,5,6,8,9,10) - (North Carolina)
Always dicey to rely upon, but could hit. Real hard for Biden to lose if he wins there; it will tend to make up for any shortfalls. Looks to be extremely close, judging by the polls.
4) "Doin' It The Hard Way" -
There are a bundle of other states in which Biden could effectively clinch a win Election Night, despite not clearly winning any of the above. Georgia, Ohio, Texas are all possibilities and should count quickly. Iowa's status is similar, though probably slower to count and less likely to matter.*
5) Sweating It While Having to Wait for PA - This is the one we want to avoid. Think of it as a long, drawn-out play of several rolls, with side bets eating away from the final result, whether or not we win or lose the play. It could be a win, but not the kind of satisfactory result that will make Trump go away.
In this scenario, Biden doesn't win NC or FL, or any of those others, but doesn't Crap Out (rolling a 2, 3, or 12, or in other words, lose WI, MN, or MI), and is ahead, but not decisively so, in Pennsylvania itself. In that case, we wait--either with or without Arizona**--for PA to produce final, unofficial results. Which they are now promising by Friday.
Just to remind, but if the Democrats Crap Out and lose WI, MN,or MI, all may be lost while waiting for PA. So we play with that risk accepted.
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The outcome of the Senate is as critical as that of the White House, and there's more reason to doubt it. Considering that, this view integrates the most important states for both races.
The Five States to Watch Election Night
(Besides Florida, of course)
1) North Carolina - is the only critical Presidential battleground state that also has a closely-contested Senate race. NC will report fairly quickly, though one shouldn't be surprised if there are charges of voting irregularities (coming from either side).
2) Iowa - has an even closer Senate race, perhaps the most critical test for control of that chamber. Though this Republican-leaning state is polling dead even between Trump and Biden, with just six electoral votes it is not as critical to the outcome. Iowa officials claim to have their counting act together, different from the debacle in the Democratic primary.
3) Arizona - If you're still up, it will either confirm the eventual Biden win late Tuesday night or throw things back into doubt. Mark Kelly would seem to be a prohibitive favorite in the special election for McCain's old seat, but if he doesn't win Democrats' dreams of Senate control go up in smoke.
4) Georgia - An unprecedented opportunity for the Democrats in the state: Three chances for a major statewide win, something they haven't had for decades. Biden could surprise, but he might also be able to bring in enough turnout to make a difference in one or both Senate races. Jon Ossoff flat-out defeating the incumbent David Perdue is no longer a shocking idea; while Raphael Warnock seems likely to show a substantial lead in the general election 'jungle primary' for the special election of the other Senate seat, though without getting a majority. Both races would go to a runoff in January if there is no candidate getting an absolute majority, which, if the control of the Senate is still in doubt, would attract unprecedented levels of national attention and spending.
5) Michigan - It may be early a.m. Wednesday, but when Michigan comes out with projectable results statewide, it will be worth watching. In the Presidential race, analysts will be looking at the margin so far vs. the number of absentee ballots not yet counted and make a probabilistic calculation of whether the outcome is determined. If and when it is called for Biden, it will narrow the possible paths to a couple--or only one. Meanwhile, Gary Peters' Senate race is a critical piece in the Democrats' plans to regain control--he is likely to win, but Democrats' control is unlikely to be clear unless his victory is.
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Five Secondary and Downballot Stories
A Surprise Senate Outcome --There are so many possibilities that the odds favor that there will be one. Alaska, South Carolina, Montana, Kansas--each of those is a real, though outlandish, possible Democratic win to pick up a seat. On the other hand, trouble for the Democratic incumbent in Michigan or Minnesota would cause Democrats great anxiety about their chances to win the Senate back. Beyond that, there are also longshot chances for an upset in Mississippi, Kentucky, Texas or even Alabama itself, with Democrat Doug Jones repeating the kind of upset win he had in 2018.
State Legislature Battles - The 2020 Census, itself a chess piece in this year's election, will set the stage for allocation of the number of House of Representatives by state. Most states' legislatures have critical, highly-politicized roles in designing the boundaries of those seats. We're also seeing how important is control of the legislatures by the governor's party. Key battles include PA, TX, FL, NC, and AZ.
Montana - There are battles at every level down the ballot, though the Presidential race is not particularly close. The big one is the contest for a vital Senate seat held by Republican Steve Daines, challenged by current two-term Governor Steve Bullock, who's battled uphill to reach parity in the polls. The state's single Congressional seat (it's likely to pick up another after 2020-based redistricting) is even closer. There is also a competitive Governor's race and for control of the state's legislature. And....
Ballot Measures - Direct Democracy is on the march, with a variety of measures. Montana is voting on marijuana legalization (as are Arizona and Massachusetts), which may boost Democratic turnout there and help their chances in those races mentioned above. There's a whole host of measures to increase democracy itself, including open primaries and ranked-choice voting in Alaska and Massachusetts, and measures in some states to try to de-politicize Congressional and state legislature redistricting after 2020. Most of these will win; a majority of Americans are reacting to the current 'tyranny of the minority' and want change to it. I am not generally a fan of States' Rights arguments, but I have to admit that some states are taking the lead where our elected Federal officeholders have not yet dared to stray.
NE-2 and ME-2 - Two states, Nebraska and Maine, have eschewed winner-take-all for their Electoral Votes and separately award them by Congressional district (with two going to the statewide winner). Most states have chosen not to dilute their voting power this way, but because each of these two have one very competitive district (the one in and around Omaha in Nebraska, and the rural northern part of the state of Maine), both have been visited in the campaign by the candidates. NE-2 is seen as strongly leaning Democratic, while the Maine district leans Republican, both radically different from the state as a whole. Note also that the Congressional races in these two districts differ from the Presidential ones: the Nebraska district has a Republican incumbent in a tight challenge, while the Maine district has a popular Democratic incumbent expected to be re-elected.
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The People's House
Despite what Trump may say, continued Democratic control of the House of Representatives is not seriously in doubt. Look for certain close House races to indicate trends emerging that are counter to statewide trends.
NM-2 --My state's downstate district tends Republican but has a Democratic incumbent, Xochitl Torres Small. It's a large district bordering on Texas, Arizona and Mexico, and is a test of strength for Republican efforts to win back seats.
CO-3 Another such test in this region, from the opposite side, is the race in Colorado's Third district, where a gun-toting, bar-owning Trumpist woman is defending a Republican seat vacated by its incumbent.
Texas Takeovers-- In general, I expect the usual "Close, but no Cigar" from Texas with statewide Democratic candidates (including Biden) to top off at 46-48%, as usual, but there is movement shaking at the ground level. All of TX-21 through TX-25 are interesting battles showing the emerging Democratic strength beyond the major city centers. This is one state where Democrats expect to gain multiple seats.
Iowa - All four of IA-1 through IA-4 are closely contested races, including a couple that the Democrats picked up in 2018 they need to defend, and in the 4th district, a contest to replace disgraced right-wing extremist Steve King (who lost in the Republican primary). If the Republicans are going to make a move in House seats, they need to make a mark here.
New York (24th and 11th Districts) - The metro New York area dominates statewide elections, but outside that area, moderates have usually won election. They are being challenged both from the right and the left. The 24th district includes the city of Syracuse and its suburbs; Republican John Katko is challenged again by Dana Balter, and moderate Democrat Max Rose in Republican-leaning Staten Island faces a difficult challenge from Nicole Malliotakis.
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Five Predictions
Over-Unders (median of my distributions): National Turnout (Presidential election) - 156 million;
Popular Vote -- Biden 52.5, Trump 45.2, others 2.3%
When will the Election be Called (Fox and CNN) -- Primetime Nov. 4
Rust Belt Strategy over Sun Belt (This Time) -- AZ the only Sun Belt win for Biden; IA to Biden. Several Southern states (GA, NC, FL) all go narrowly to Trump (<2%), TX and OH a bit more, but Biden wins all of the Upper Midwest states he lost in 2016.
Democrats to 51 Senate seats -- There are many close races, and it will take awhile to settle, longer than the Presidential race. It may even go to the runoff in Georgia, let's hope not. The arithmetic works like this:
--First, subtract Doug Jones' Alabama seat, very likely to be lost (D 46).
--Democrats will win 3 of the 4 races in which they are leading in the polls (in order of certainty, CO, AZ, ME, and NC), losing one of them (D 49);
--one out of two states where the odds are roughly 50-50 for a Democratic pickup (IA and GA, both seats)
--and one out of all the others. It could even be two of them.
Finally, the Electoral Vote count (prior to shenanigans): Biden 296, Trump 242.
Trump loses despite several important successes in holding FL, NC, OH, GA, TX, and ME-2.
Biden wins the Clinton states plus AZ, WI, MI, PA, plus IA and NE-2.
Winning Iowa--it may be very close and take awhile, even if they report quickly, and may not be at all critical to the Electoral College outcome--would be a great cap to a historic comeback for Biden and his unification of Democratic political forces. His disappointing fifth place in the primary almost killed his candidacy, but that was just the Iowa caucus craziness we all love. All the candidates came around fully to support him, and that's one big difference from 2016 this time.
Dedicated to Jenifer Kelderman Stoner (a fan of 5).
Click the map to create your own at Notes on Five Ways...:
*There are lots of other possible changes, such as Trump winning Nevada, New Hampshire, or Biden winning a state like Montana or South Carolina, but, like Iowa, the ones with less than ten electoral votes generally won't make a difference, singly. There are some permutations where Biden winning Iowa could make the difference, but they are hard to concoct (one is the combination of NC and IA, which makes 21 EV together, the same as WI or MN and AZ).
**The Nightmare Scenario, my own Personal Conspiracy Theory is Biden winning, 270-248, or leading, 269-249, and waiting for PA.
The possibility PA could be challenged later could make for a very nervous time, reminiscent of the election stolen from Samuel J. Tilden for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876.+
In the case when Biden has only 270 clear votes, any faithless elector (or other kind of slip-up) could be fatal for our domestic tranquility, and the second--any scenario, in fact, where Biden has 269 uncontested Electoral Votes--could lead to the Constitution's absurd "one state, one vote" House process, almost certain to be won by Trump.
+ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1876_United_States_presidential_election
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