Pivot Counties in Indiana
| 2020 Election Analysis: Pivot Counties |
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Retained • Boomerang Margins of victory Voter turnout Demographics |
Pivot Counties are the 206 counties nationwide Ballotpedia identified as having voted for Barack Obama (D) in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Media and political observers sometimes refer to these counties as swing counties.
Following the 2016 presidential election, Indiana had five Pivot Counties.
Ballotpedia defines Pivot Counties Trump won in 2020 as Retained Pivot Counties and those Joe Biden (D) won as Boomerang Pivot Counties.
After the 2020 presidential election, all five were Retained Pivot Counties.
List of Pivot Counties
The table below lists the Pivot Counties in Indiana. These counties accounted for 5.43 percent of the total counties in Indiana, and 7.98 percent of the state population.
| Analysis of Indiana counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 following the 2020 presidential election[1] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | State | Winner, 2020 | Margin of Victory, 2020 | Trump Margin of Victory, 2016 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2012 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2008 | |
| Delaware County | Indiana | Retained | +13.18 | +13.43 | +3.12 | +14.98 | |
| LaPorte County | Indiana | Retained | +7.23 | +6.33 | +12.57 | +22.04 | |
| Perry County | Indiana | Retained | +24.56 | +18.55 | +11.59 | +22.84 | |
| Porter County | Indiana | Retained | +6.08 | +6.59 | +3.9 | +7.2 | |
| Vigo County | Indiana | Retained | +14.73 | +14.97 | +0.86 | +15.83 | |
The map below shows Retained Pivot Counties in Indiana shaded bright red.
2020 analysis
Voter turnout
Indiana has five Retained Pivot Counties, 5.4% of the state's 92 total counties. Turnout in these counties accounted for 7.79% of the statewide total turnout.
| Voter turnout in Indiana and its Pivot Counties | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Overview | ||||||
| Indiana | 3,033,118 | 4,876,215 | 62.20% | - | ||
| Retained Pivot Counties | 236,408 | 403,670 | 58.56% | 7.79% | ||
| County-specific | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Delaware | 48,191 | 92,365 | 52.17% | 1.59% | ||
| LaPorte | 49,392 | 84,985 | 58.12% | 1.63% | ||
| Perry | 8,722 | 14,910 | 58.50% | 0.29% | ||
| Porter | 86,509 | 127,965 | 67.60% | 2.85% | ||
| Vigo | 43,594 | 83,445 | 52.24% | 1.44% | ||
Demographics
This table displays demographic data, on average, by county compared to nationwide and statewide averages with a focus on Pivot Counties. Use the arrows at the top of the table to view 2016 data and changes from 2016 to 2020. Full demographic data can be found here.
2016 analysis
Voting trends
The table below details the voting trends of the Pivot Counties in Indiana since 1960.
| Presidential Elections in Indiana Pivot Counties since 1960 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Elections won by Republican Presidential candidate | Elections won by Democratic Presidential candidate | Elections matching national result | |||
| Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | |
| Delaware County, Indiana | 11 | 73.33% | 4 | 26.67% | 12 | 80.00% |
| LaPorte County, Indiana | 8 | 53.33% | 7 | 46.67% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Perry County, Indiana | 4 | 26.67% | 11 | 73.33% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Porter County, Indiana | 12 | 80.00% | 3 | 20.00% | 11 | 73.33% |
| Vigo County, Indiana | 8 | 53.33% | 7 | 46.67% | 15 | 100.00% |
| Average | 9 | 57.33% | 6 | 42.67% | 12 | 80.00% |
| Median | 8 | 53.33% | 7 | 46.67% | 11 | 73.33% |
2016 election results
- See also: Presidential election in Indiana, 2016
In 2016, Indiana had 11 electoral votes, which was 2 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 4 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election. Democratic and Republican primaries took place in Indiana on May 3, 2016. Bernie Sanders won the Indiana Democratic primary 52.5 percent of the vote. Donald Trump won the Indiana Republican primary with 53.3 percent.
General election
| U.S. presidential election, Indiana, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 37.8% | 1,033,126 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
56.9% | 1,557,286 | 11 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 4.9% | 133,993 | 0 | |
| - | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 10,553 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 2,734,958 | 11 | |||
| Election results via: Indiana Secretary of State | |||||
Primaries
| Indiana Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Bernie Sanders |
52.5% | 335,074 | 44 | |
| Hillary Clinton | 47.5% | 303,705 | 39 | |
| Totals | 638,779 | 83 | ||
| Source: Indiana Secretary of State and The New York Times | ||||
| Indiana Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
| Jeb Bush | 0.6% | 6,508 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 0.8% | 8,914 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0.2% | 1,738 | 0 | |
| Ted Cruz | 36.6% | 406,783 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.1% | 1,494 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 7.6% | 84,111 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.4% | 4,306 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 0.5% | 5,175 | 0 | |
| Donald Trump |
53.3% | 591,514 | 57 | |
| Totals | 1,110,543 | 57 | ||
| Source: Indiana Secretary of State and The New York Times | ||||
99 percent of precincts reporting.
See also
- List of Pivot Counties - the 206 counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump
- Pivot Counties by state
- Presidential election, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ This analysis does not include counties in Alaska and certain independent cities due to variations in vote total reporting.
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