Battleground 2020: How Pennsylvania turned red

In the first edition of our series, Battleground 2020, we take a look back at the last presidential election and the factors that led to Trump's victory in the commonwealth.

Air Date: January 3, 2020 10:00 am

Corn grows in front of a barn carrying a large Trump sign in rural Ashland, Neb., Tuesday, July 24, 2018. The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will provide $12 billion in emergency relief to ease the pain of American farmers slammed by President Donald Trump's escalating trade disputes with China and other countries. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Guests: Chris Borick, Joseph Morris, Holly Otterbein

Flashback to November 6, 2016 in Pennsylvania when Donald Trump captured the presidency besting Hillary Clinton by just 44,000 votes to become the first Republican to carry the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1988. All this despite the fact that there are nearly a million more registered Democratic voters in the State. Today on Radio Times, we’ll look back to the election of 2016 – how Trump managed to flip three counties that historically vote democratic and how low voter turnout in Philadelphia influenced the outcome. We’ll talk about how Trump managed to sway the voters, the issues that mattered most to them and why some didn’t even show up at the polls. Our guests are CHRIS BORICK, professor of political science and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, JOSEPH MORRIS, associate professor and chair of the department of political science at Mercyhurst University in Eerie, and HOLLY OTTERBEIN, national political reporter for POLITICO.

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