What can we learn from so-called bellwethers?
As we watch results come in and slice and dice the political geography of the most competitive states, I'm cautiously watching a few bellwether areas. Semafor's David Weigel identifies Hamilton County, Indiana, as such a place to watch, where Trump's victory there was more narrow than Republican victories in the past. It's a suburban area that illustrates the general shift toward the Democrats in the suburbs. Right now, with 94% of the expected vote reported, Trump is on track with the same vote share he won there in 2020 -- 52%. Another county that Weigel called attention to is DeKalb County in Georgia, which he considers an indicator of whether Trump is really improving his performance with Black voters. With 87% of the expected vote counted, Trump is at 17% compared with 16% in 2020.
Some observers also look at congressional districts rather than counties. One district that's drawn some attention, especially given all the focus on Pennsylvania, is Pennsylvania’s 7th District, where Democrat Susan Wild is running for reelection. It's probably too early to learn much from this race, with about 52% of votes in -- but Wild’s Republican opponent, Ryan Mackenzie, has a narrow lead.
So there's not much that's new here, and it's worth thinking a bit more deeply about the whole idea of bellwethers, which suggest the power of national trends -- across demographic groups or geographic categories (e.g., suburban voters). But we don't really know exactly what it all means until we have more data.
