The significance of Pennsylvania's electoral votes for the 2024 presidential election

Whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, most pundits agree that a path to the White House includes Pennsylvania's electoral votes.

In recent history, the popular vote in Pennsylvania—which decides who gets the electoral votes—has been very close. In 2020, it took four days for CBS News to project Joe Biden as the state's presidential election winner.

Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populated state in the United States, with an estimated population of 12,961,683 in 2023, according to the most recent U.S. census data.

A state this large, with a population that is pretty evenly split politically, becomes a state to watch on election night.

How many electoral votes does Pennsylvania have?

The number of electoral votes assigned to a state is based on the number of Senators and Representatives that state has in Congress, which is dependent on population. To win the presidency, a candidate needs to win 270 electoral votes.

Pennsylvania now has 19 electoral votes compared to the 20 it had during the 2020 presidential election, thanks to redistricting after the 2020 census. It was the fifth census in a row that Pennsylvania lost a congressional seat.  

Recent voting trends in Pennsylvania

Since the 1992 presidential election, where Bill Clinton was elected president, most Pennsylvanians have voted for the Democratic presidential candidate. The lone outlier came during the 2016 race, when the Republican challenger, Donald Trump, earned 48.2% of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton's 47.5%.

Since 1900, Pennsylvania has voted Democratic 45.2% of the time and Republican 51.6% of the time.

Though there are states with more electoral votes at stake, none of them have traditionally been as close to call as Pennsylvania. 

In:
• United States Electoral College
• Pennsylvania
• Voting
• Politics
• 2024 Elections