” Since it’s not our system, the candidates aren’t trying to win the popular election, and projecting who would win a popular election by counting votes in an electoral college election is not valid.”
Right.
1. The electoral college was instituted to make sure that each state had a voice. (Even so — Cal/NY have more votes and thus more voice).
2. Trump did not campaign in NY and CAL. I assume that Hillary did not spend a lot of times where Trump was going to win by large margins. The campaign would fundamentally change if it was a straight popular vote. (I wonder if a straight popular vote would encourage more third party candidates because they could actually directly effect the election).