The winner's margin of victory also matters. If it's a squeaker, that will make the lessons learned for both parties much murkier.

Meanwhile, there are some traditional battleground states - like Ohio and Iowa - that are becoming older, whiter and less educated. That's turning them from true battlegrounds into more reliable red states.

Does Donald Trump accept the results and concede graciously, pursue legal action, or tell his followers to take to the streets?

[Donald] Trump has said he will accept the results of the election - if he wins. And he has said the only way he can lose the election is if it's stolen from him. Weeks before any votes were cast, he was predicting widespread voter fraud. So if he loses, what does he do?

Ted Cruz is a small-government conservative.

For a long time, many Republicans thought if they just took two aspirin and laid down, [Donald] Trump would go away.

The Republican Party, right now, is a conservative populist party.