In July 2018, analysts and statisticians were uncertain whether the Democratic Party could win back the House of Representatives, with some predicting a tight race, and some a slim electoral victory for the Democrats.
However, Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, predicted a 42-seat blue wave. Her prediction turned out to be staggeringly accurate, and now — as the 2020 presidential election approaches — she is being given “the recognition she deserves,” according to Salon.
According to Bitecofer, although members of the media tend to suggest that the Midwest carried Donald Trump to victory in 2016, that is not entirely accurate because the Republicans cracked 50 percent in only two states — Iowa and Ohio. In Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the president won between 46 and 47 percent of the vote.