How swing states came to be critical in U.S. presidential elections

How swing states came to be critical in U.S. presidential elections toggle caption Scott Olson/Getty Images When Swarthmore, Pa., resident Scott Richardson first voted in a U.S. presidential election, it was for Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976. toggle caption Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images “Swing states have increasingly become not just states that flip back and forth, but states, given the relative polarization and certainty of other states voting particular ways, these are the small cluster of states that truly are going to decide the presidential election,” said David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University and editor of Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter. toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images “That’s an interesting part of the puzzle, the migration patterns,” said David Damore, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor of political science and coauthor of Blue Metros, Red States: The Shifting Urban/Rural Divide in America’s Swing States. Do they bring their blue state politics?” Additionally, Damore noted that social issues are largely replacing economic differences and driving the political conversation in swing states.