[ezzzzz]

Yeah, chiming in from the Mid-West, the Trump base is out in full force. Lots of Trump signs in yards (with varying degrees of offensive slogans), seeing Trump flags flying from the back of pickup truck beds and yards everywhere... one gets the opposite impression. Whether the 'silent-majority' is truly the majority or actually the 'extremely vocal minority' will decide the election. However, there is no denying Trump has a very energized base out here. I have a feeling the Trump will lose the popular vote, but as 2016 has shown, mid America will be the deciding factor.

The other troubling thing, as related to the article, is the huge role conspiracy theories like Qanon will play in this election. Just as the article describes, through FB's algorithm, people engaged with traditionally left-leaning communities (non-GMO, alternative medicine etc) are getting sucked into this madness. FB's work to suppress this is not only too little, too late, it also creates a self-enforcing narrative that 'the elites' are actively engaged in a cover-up. It's pretty scary stuff. Not to mention, the cognitive dissonance is only amplified by civil-unrest and a global pandemic. The psyche of the body politic has been absolutely ravaged by the events of 2020, creating a perfect-storm for the unexpected to occur.

[shadowgovt]

The midwest likes the Republican candidate, but the entire Midwest gets a the same number of electoral college votes as, what, eight or nine coastal states?

[ezzzzz]

I should have included the South in my assessment, when you have states like Texas and Florida with 2nd and 3rd most (tie) amount of electoral votes, not forgetting 'swing' states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan that have a lot of pull. The middle of the US, and the East Coast South of the Mason-Dixon line is solid red. Gerrymandering has made it so even states like Georgia with a majority African-American population concentrated within congressional districts with enough political power to theoretically do something (Atlanta) will likely never flip blue (assuming said population were to vote blue). Same story where I live in southern Ohio. It's pretty sad. I think the electoral college needs to go away, but I doubt I'll ever see it in my lifetime. Hate to be a bummer on this, just tempering my own expectations.