While admitting that her campaign had flaws, Hillary Clinton blames her defeat mostly on the Russian Interference in the election and the action taken in late October by James Comey, the FBI Director. There is one other major cause that gets too little attention in the mainstream media and by major political talking heads. It is the suppression of the African-American vote.
By my calculation, there were three primary reasons for Clinton’s defeat: the Russian interference, James Comey’s October surprise, and the Republican suppression of the African-American vote.
The Russian interference in the election is rightfully the main focus of attention as their actions were a serious attack on a vital American institution. However, it is probably third in importance in affecting the election. And this includes the possible collusion with the Russians by some in the Trump campaign. Measuring the effects of the Russian interference is hard, partly because all of their activities are not known. On the other hand, there are plenty data to support the consequences of the two most important factors that worked against Clinton’s election. I will have more to say about this data in upcoming posts.