Trump's shrinking swing state map

Interviews with more than two dozen Republican operatives, state party officials and elected leaders suggest three of the 11 battleground states identified by POLITICO — Colorado, New Hampshire and Virginia — are tilting so heavily toward Hillary Clinton that they’re close to unwinnable for the GOP presidential nominee. But Trump remains within striking distance in the remaining eight states, including electoral giants Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The increasing likelihood that Colorado, New Hampshire and Virginia are out of reach heightens the urgency for the Republican nominee to win those still-competitive states — and to recapture steam in Pennsylvania, where he once looked formidable but now trails by 10 points, according to POLITICO’s Battleground States polling average.

Trump’s prospects look dimmest in New Hampshire, the site of his first primary election triumph in February. Republicans remain convinced it’s fundamentally a swing state but at the presidential level, where Trump hasn’t been above 40 percent in public polls since June, many concede the cause is nearly lost…

Dave Carney, a longtime New Hampshire GOP strategist who still sees a sliver of opportunity for Trump there, said the Republican nominee is more likely to get swamped by Clinton’s ground game, which will work to her advantage on Election Day, since New Hampshire has same-day voter registration.