Earl 2020

I enjoy travel, maps, and politics, which is why I started to wonder, after our most recent road trip, if I'd visited enough states to win a US Presidential election, assuming I'd win each state I've visited (and assuming a parallel universe in which I'm eligible to run, not being an American).

I added 10 states to my existing tally on this trip, but as you can see above, that's not enough to reach the 270 votes required for victory by the American electoral college system. On the other hand, Sylvia and I are planning to visit New York next year, and that would give me another 29 electoral votes - enough to eke out a narrow win in 2020.

Given the state of American politics today, it's pretty hard to imagine any two candidates delivering this map. Somehow the left wins Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alaska and Indiana while losing the election, and for some reason the reliably Democrat New England - including Washington, DC - chooses the Republican! But then, I suppose practically anything is possible in this bold new era.