又中又英｜Swing states

Many Americans have switched their attention from the presidential election on November 5 to the Paris Olympics. But attention on the election will be in full swing after the Olympics end on August 11. If something is in full swing, it means it has reached its highest level of activity. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will hit the campaign trail to urge their supporters to vote. Their campaign offices and eligible groups will spend millions of dollars on TV ads attacking their opponents. To hit the campaign trail means to travel to different parts of the country to speak to voters at rallies.

The US has 50 states, with some that are loyal to the Republican Party and others that are loyal to the Democratic Party. The states that support Republican candidates are known as red states. Those that support Democratic candidates are called blue states. The red states are mostly in the middle and south of the US, such as Kansas and Texas. Most blue states are on the east and west coasts, such as New York and California. But the swing states mostly decide who is elected president. A swing state means a state where the Democrats and Republicans have similar voter support.

These states are also called toss-up states or battleground states where Trump and Harris will campaign the hardest. The 2024 swing states are Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia. Biden became president in the 2020 election after narrowly winning several swing states, including Georgia and Wisconsin. Trump was elected president in 2016 after winning six battleground states.

許多美國人都已將注意力從十一月五日的總統大選，轉移至巴黎奧運了。但當奧運於八月十一日結束後，對於大選的關注又會是 in full swing——若某事情是 in full swing，意即它密鑼緊鼓、如火如荼地進行。前總統唐納德‧特朗普與現任副總統賀錦麗，都將會開展他們競選活動的路程（hit the campaign trail），鼓動他們的支持者投票。他們的競選辦及合資格的團體將會花上數以百萬計的美元，投放電視廣告攻擊他們的對手。To hit the campaign trail是指穿州過省去全國不同的地方，於集會上向選民講話。

美國有五十個州，一些對共和黨非常忠誠，另一些則對民主黨非常忠誠。支持共和黨候選人的州分被稱為紅州，而支持民主黨候選人的州分則被稱為藍州。紅州大多位處美國中部及南部，例如堪薩斯州和德州；大部分的藍州則在東岸及西岸，例如紐約和加州。然而，搖擺州（swing states）多會決定誰能當選總統。A swing state就是游離的州分，民主黨和共和黨在當地有相近票數的選民支持。

這些州又會被稱為像擲硬幣決勝負的 toss-up states，又或 battleground states，特朗普和賀錦麗會在這些州分中最落力地拉票。二零二四年的搖擺州（swing states）是威斯康辛州、賓夕凡尼亞州、密西根州、北卡羅萊納州、內華達州、亞利桑那州以及喬治亞州。於二零二零年選舉中，拜登險勝取得幾個搖擺州（swing states），包括喬治亞州和威斯康辛州之後，就當選成為總統。特朗普則是於二零一六年贏了六個戰場州（battleground states）之後，當選成為總統的。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻