A handful of states will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the 2024 US elections.

These battlegrounds are known as swing states, meaning any state that could reasonably be won by the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate.

Experts believe that seven of them – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – are the states that hold the keys to the White House.

Sky News has correspondents in some key battleground states. Scroll down to read their thoughts as America heads to the polls.

Dearborn, Michigan – Yousra Elbagir

The Great Lakes state has chosen the winning candidate in the last two presidential elections, but despite Joe Biden’s support in 2020, recent developments in the Middle East have seen Democrats lose support there.

That’s because Michigan has the largest proportion of Arab-Americans in the United States — a population unhappy with U.S. support for Israel in that country’s war in Gaza.

“You really feel the disengagement here. It’s very intentional,” explains Yousra.

“Everywhere we went in Michigan we saw signs for Harris or Trump, but here it just feels like people aren’t engaged, they don’t feel represented.

“We spoke to Arab-Americans at a Trump rally who believe that supporting Trump is their best bet, their best path to achieving peace in the Middle East.

“But we also spoke to advocacy specialists who said the Arab-Muslim communities they spoke with really feel like they can’t vote for either candidate.”

“This is definitely the blind spot of the Harris-Waltz campaign,” adds Yousa. “And whether or not they can convince the Arab and Muslim masses here in Michigan could help him in the future.”

Atlanta, Georgia – Cordelia Lynch

Joe Biden managed to turn the once ruby ​​red state of Georgia blue in 2020, thanks in part to the suburban vote.

The state’s population explosion has brought a more diverse electorate, and it’s these voters that Kamala Harris will be desperate to hold on to.

“It’s really about playing for the margins,” says Cordelia. “It’s an incredibly close race in the state of Georgia. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road here and I think the women’s vote will be absolutely crucial.

“We saw with Kamala Harris that abortion was at the top of the political agenda, as was her campaign message.

“The calculation, the hope, the aspiration of the Democrats is that we will see very significant participation among women, among young women.

“She also needs not only African-American voters who historically support Democrats in this state, but also white working-class female voters, which is not something Democrats performed well with in 2016 or 2020. So that’s the challenge.”

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Dominique Waghorn

Considered by some to be the biggest treasure on the battlefield map, Pennsylvania has been visited incessantly by Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris in recent months.

The state has 19 Electoral College votes – more than any other swing state.

“Unless there’s a big upset, if you win Pennsylvania, you win the White House,” Dominic says.

“And it’s very, very close. It’s 48-48 in the latest polls because Donald Trump has completely erased Kamala Harris’ narrow lead that she had for most of this election.

“If you look at a map of Pennsylvania, it’s a sea of ​​red with pockets of blue. Democrats dominate around Philadelphia, in a few pockets in the middle of the state, and then here alone in Pittsburgh.

“And this has been a Democratic stronghold for decades. It’s been a working-class, blue-collar stronghold for them in the industrial heartland of Pennsylvania … but the Trump campaign sees opportunity here, and they’ve made incursions into this democratic bastion country.

Phoenix, Arizona – Shingi Mararike

Each swing state has its own contours and characteristics, and one of Arizona’s characteristics is that it is the only battleground state to share a border with Mexico.

As a result, immigration is a hot-button issue in the Copper State, where about one in four voters are Latino.

“It’s a nuanced set of circumstances, because some people here are second-generation Mexicans,” Shingi says.

“They were born here. So they have citizenship. So they have taken more right-wing positions on immigration, including the more bombastic rhetoric that Donald Trump has talked about, talking about bringing in the National Guard and placing people in camps.

“They say they want to see the border better regulated, and they say the Democratic Party has failed them. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have failed them in that sense.”

Kinston, North Carolina – James Matthew

Analysts believe North Carolina will be one of the tightest races on Tuesday, which could explain why Donald Trump had four engagements in the state this weekend.

“This is a state they could have counted on just a few weeks ago,” James says.

“But in this Republican campaign, whose logistics and location are driven by data, they brought it back here, clearly in an effort to consolidate the vote.

“In the words of a Trump adviser, ‘if there’s one state that could bite us, it’s North Carolina.’

“It makes them nervous. And if Donald Trump lost North Carolina, it would significantly shorten his path to victory. »