The current issue facing the GOP in the form of Trump and his followers is something that's been brewing under the surface for decades. I was born in Georgia and live in South Carolina, and have family in both states (I live in the Augusta area). I grew up in the stereotypical white Southern family. I know full well that racism never died, and still thrives. Often times it manifests itself in the form of nativism. I know many who distrust if not outright hate immigrants (esp. Latinos) and Muslims, because to them the only thing worse than "inner-city welfare queen moochers" are "those damn foreigners." These people who think like this have formed a significant core of the GOP's base for several decades ever since the last big shift in party alignment that began in 1964 following the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The national Republican Party obviously couldn't be overtly supportive of policies that reflect these peoples' prejudices the way the likes of Strom Thurmond or George Wallace did 50-60 years ago. That's because the GOP still needed the support of many non-whites in order to achieve electoral success. For example, members of the GOP may have made appeals to the secure-the-border crowd, but they also made appeals to Latinos, and Reagan and the Bushes had stances on immigration that seem in many ways downright progressive today. Incidentally, George W. Bush did quite well among Latino voters.

Enter Donald Trump. The nativist segment of the GOP base, the ones who want the borders closed, a wall built on our southern border, the "illegals" and Muslims kicked out, and for America in general to turn itself inward and away from the outside world, feel that America is under siege by invading hordes of foreigners. They feel betrayed because the national Republican Party hasn't passed policies that reflect their views on race and immigration (hence the alt-right's insulting neologism "cuckservative"). Trump was the one to speak to them, to say the things they wanted to hear, with no restraint, no filter, and no regard for quaint notions like common decency (because "not being an asshole" is "political correctness"). He's promised the wall, he's stated flatly that most Latino immigrants are the worst sorts of criminal scum (gun-runners, drug dealers, and rapists, according to him), he's threatened to block any and all Muslims from entering the country. It's not dog whistle politics here. It's flat out overt appeals to the natvists. Needless to say, this strategy is not working because it appeals to a relatively narrow segment of white voters. Essentially, his entire campaign has revolved around appealing to two groups 1) the ~40% of GOP primary voters who agree with him on immigration and related issues, and 2) the people who conservative pundits have spent the last 25 years convincing that Hillary Clinton is the devil incarnate. You can't win a national election with just those two groups. His overt misogyny hasn't done him any favors, either. Polls suggested Bush, Rubio, and even Cruz stood a better change of beating Hillary, and Kasich may have won the election soundly, but a commanding plurality of primary voters wanted Trump, not an "establishment" figure that wasn't going to give them everything they wanted.

"Trumpism" is a losing strategy. The GOP faces a conundrum here. Ardent Trump supporters are still going to be a part of their base going forward. They risk splitting the party's current base if they support policies aimed at appealing to minority voters and esp. Latinos. But if white, nativist conservatives are a shrinking crowd and Latinos an ever-growing demographic, the GOP's long-term survival strategy will hinge on abandoning the ideals of Trump and, consequently, those who are strong Trump supporters. Alternately, they could simply abandon any hope of attaining the White House again and focus on shoring up their current base and attempting to capture as many congresstional seats and state/local governments as they can, though even this may be unsustainable if even white voters become more and more progressive over the coming decades as older conservatives gradually die off.

Guns vs immigration basically. If the demcrats can some how "easy off" guns and the NRA while also supporting immigration and hispanics - it could actually happen.

"Trumpism" is a losing strategy. The GOP faces a conundrum here. Ardent Trump supporters are still going to be a part of their base going forward. They risk splitting the party's current base if they support policies aimed at appealing to minority voters and esp. Latinos. But if white, nativist conservatives are a shrinking crowd and Latinos an ever-growing demographic, the GOP's long-term survival strategy will hinge on abandoning the ideals of Trump and, consequently, those who are strong Trump supporters. Alternately, they could simply abandon any hope of attaining the White House again and focus on shoring up their current base and attempting to capture as many congresstional seats and state/local governments as they can, though even this may be unsustainable if even white voters become more and more progressive over the coming decades as older conservatives gradually die off.

http://www.270towin.com/maps/gBNmL

That is my take on the election so far. The dark blue and dark red are the states that have voted the same way since 1992.

6 Elections and 24 years I think is a fairly good guideline to go by.

Light blue, and light red are based on previous polls and state history.

Anything that seemed close I left as blank. Nevada, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida all seem too close to call imo.

I'm not going to pretend Texas, Georgia, or Arizona go blue, and I don't think there is anyway Wisconsin or NH are going red.

It looks like Ohio has a good chance of going red which I find interesting. Ohio has been voting "correctly" since 1964. That is a really long time.

True. Most polls put Florida going blue though. Along with Pennyslvania that would easily be enough.

An selection where NH goes red, and Arizona/Georiga/Texas went "Toss Up" would be interesting - if it wasn't so very frightening.

My final prediction for what the electoral map will look like after tomorrow night: