Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How The Mountain West States Voted In 2016: A Post-Election Analysis Of Trends, Demographics, And Politics In America’S New Swing Region, William E. Brown, Robert E. Lang, David Damore, Benoy Jacob, Michael Green

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West and the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs hosted a panel of experts in state and regional politics and history to examine election returns and exit polling and provide a first-read of the 2016 election. The Mountain West is now one of the nation’s most contested political regions. Its population growth and ever-shifting demographics make the region harder to predict and most susceptible to political swings. Five states in the Southern Mountain West – Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah – now hold more electoral votes than all individual states except Texas and California. In our current …