States only matter because the Electoral College makes them matter. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What this election showed more clearly than ever before is that counties are what really matter. Clinton lost those states you mentioned because she mistakenly assumed her strength in large urban areas like Detroit, Milwaukee and Miami would be enough to override her weakness in the rural counties of those states. Obviously, she was wrong, as were most of the pundits.

In an age of mass communication and interstate commerce, the Electoral College really is anachronistic. But, as I said, I'm a realist and I don't expect it to ever be abolished.