swing state
a state of the U.S. in which the Democratic and Republican candidates both have a good chance of winning and that is considered key to the outcome of a presidential election: the swing states of Ohio and Indiana.
Origin of swing state
1- Also called purple state, battleground state .
word story For swing state
Battleground state is the oldest of the three terms, and we find examples of its use in its current political sense as early as 1860. The term underscores the grueling fight that can take place between opposing candidates who vie to win votes in a state with roughly equal support for both parties.
Purple state , the newest of the three terms, took on its current meaning in 2000, when political commentators settled on a consistent color scheme for depicting U.S. election maps: blue for a state in which Democrats have a majority; red where Republicans are in the majority; and purple (a blend of the colors blue and red) for a state with a nearly even split in voter allegiance. The term therefore emphasizes the fact that in a closely divided state, the mood and choices of voters may be hard to discern, even as they enter the polling booths on Election Day. A related but slightly different political use of the word purple is based on the observation that most states are politically and ideologically diverse: We live in a purple America and are not as polarized between red and blue as the news media would have us believe.
But the most frequently used term among the three is swing state , which seems to have gained traction during the politically tumultuous 1960s. The term underscores the drama of a close election, whose outcome can remain uncertain until the polls close. Famously close presidential contests (Kennedy–Nixon in 1960; Bush–Gore in 2000) have been determined by how a handful of swing states ultimately voted.
Although all three terms can be used interchangeably, they describe the drama of closely contested elections from distinctly different angles.
- Compare red state, blue state.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use swing state in a sentence
I just spent three days in the Senate battleground state of North Carolina.
In North Carolina, GOP Overreach May Be More Unpopular Than Obama | Dean Obeidallah | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTRep. Joni Ernst—The GOP Senate nominee in the battleground state of Iowa has the potential to serve up a prime cut of crazy.
How Long Can the Republicans Hide The Crazy? | Dean Obeidallah | September 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd Utah, meanwhile, is a battleground state in the fight for marriage equality.
John Lithgow on the Sundance Film ‘Love Is Strange’ and Gay Rights in Utah | Marlow Stern | January 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShelley Berkley (D–NEV) -- LOST She tried to take the seat of Sen. Dean Heller in the battleground state of Nevada.
Estrogen Fest: Key Women in the Race for Congress | Abigail Pesta | November 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThere is also a new NPR poll showing a battleground state tie.
The New Polls and the "Enough's Enough" Question | Michael Tomasky | July 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
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