Since 1988, the Cook Political Report has provided ratings of each of the states and districts that award Electoral College votes. However, there hasn’t been an easy or accessible way to find those ratings — until now. The Cook Political Report team has been working hard to compile, digitize and organize nearly 40 years of our analysis and ratings, and, a year out from Election Day 2024, is proud to present the final Electoral College Ratings of each presidential election from 1988 to 2020.
The first thing you will notice is how the contours of the political map change as we move into the 21st century.
From 1988 to 1996, the Electoral College playing field was large and diverse. Democrats once were competitive in every state that clung to the Mississippi River (Louisiana, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas and Minnesota). Today, Republicans run the table in all but Minnesota. Republicans, meanwhile, were competitive on both the East (Delaware and New Jersey) and West (California and Oregon) coasts. Today, of course, both coasts are decidedly blue.1988-1996 Competitive Electoral College States⬤ Lean D ⬤
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.