ATLANTA (AP) — The 2020 census is shifting the clout of some states in presidential politics. And while the changes won’t upend the parties’ basic strategies for securing the votes needed to win the White House, they do hint at new paths emerging. New population counts announced this week will result in 13 states seeing a change in their number of votes in the Electoral College. Rust Belt and upper Midwestern states will hand some of their votes to Sun Belt and Western states in 2024 and 2028. Gone are the days when Republicans held a near-absolute advantage across the southern half of the country, forcing Democrats to secure victories throughout the industrial north. Instead, the two regions are now parallel battlegrounds.
