Former President Donald J. Trump has won the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election.
The 2024 presidential race has concluded with former President Donald J. Trump as the winner of the 2024 Presidential Election, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the electoral college and popular vote. According to the latest electoral map by the Associated Press, as of the writing of this article former President Donald Trump holds 295 electoral votes, while Harris trails with 226 electoral votes.
The election map demonstrated a stark division in voter preferences across the United States, with Trump securing victories in most Southern, Midwestern, and Mountain West states. In contrast, Harris won substantial support on the West Coast, Northeast, and parts of the Midwest.
This regional split shows contrasting priorities and values among voters in different parts of the country, leading to a regionalist lens of possible policies. Both candidates had aggressively campaigned in swing states, hoping to capture the decisive votes needed to reach 270.
In the final hours of vote tallying, a handful of states had remained uncalled, their electoral votes classified as “TBD” (to be determined) and leaning towards Trump. Those states included Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Alaska. With their combined 45 electoral votes, these states had the potential to alter election results, but ultimately, these states leaned towards Trump with the final results confirming his lead. The close call in these stakes kept the nation in suspense until the final results were called.
The 2024 Presidential election was projected to be a tight race, but seemingly, former president Trump was able to rise to the top. Trump’s victory is significant in U.S. history, making him the first president since Grover Cleveland to win two non-consecutive terms.
For many voters, Trump’s return to the White House represents a continuation of his earlier policies. At the same time, Harris’s supporters viewed the outcomes as a setback for their vision of progressive reforms.
The campaign’s final weeks had seen both candidates focusing intensely on swing states that would ultimately decide the election. Trump’s campaign, leveraging his base’s enthusiasm and possible support in Republican-leaning areas, concentrated on securing states that were leaning Republican, while Harris’s campaign sought to hold onto maintaining what was known as the “blue wall” that was previously created after the 2020 election, with President Joe Biden becoming the winner. In the end, Trump’s efforts to galvanize support in the undecided states proved successful.
As Trump prepares to assume the presidency once more, the focus now shifts to the nation’s reaction and the potential policy shifts that will accompany his return to power. The Biden administration’s final days will likely involve preparing for a peaceful transition, while both parties assess the implications of this election for the future.
With Trump’s return, political analysts anticipate significant shifts in foreign policy, economic priorities, and domestic legislation. However, the challenges of a divided Congress and a polarized public may require both parties to find common ground to address the nation’s pressing issues.
