Donald Trump Wins 2024 Presidential Election

07 November, 2024

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On November 5, 2024, Americans went to the polls to vote for the next president and vice president of the United States. There were many people on the ballot, but the major contenders were Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who had been chosen by the Democratic Party, and former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance who had been nominated by the Republican Party. At 5:35 A.M. November 6, after significant victories in several key swing states, Trump secured the state of Wisconsin and was declared the winner. Here, Election Central takes a closer look at what happened on Election Day.

Early Wins

Almost immediately after polls closed on Election Day, news sources began to project the outcomes in several states along the East Coast and the Midwest. Trump was declared the winner in Indiana, while Harris took Vermont. Soon after, Trump won Kentucky as well. Traditionally blue states, which have a reliable history of voting for Democrats–such as New York and the New England states–were soon called for Harris. The traditionally red states that have a Republican voting history–such as Florida, South Carolina, and Indiana–were quickly projected as Trump victories. By 11:00 P.M., the first swing state was called: North Carolina, which also went to Trump.

Battle of the Swing States

Both Harris and Trump campaigned hard to win key swing states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. These swing states have a recent history of evenly dividing their vote between Republicans and Democrats. Because the margin of victory is often very narrow, it takes more time for the media to confidently announce the result of the presidential votes in these swing states. In the end, Trump carried most of these states. In Georgia, Harris and Trump support was very evenly divided. On Election Day, Donald Trump emerged victorious with 50.9 percent of the vote.

Pennsylvania was a key state that helped determine the outcome in the last few presidential elections. In 2020, Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes. Both Trump and Harris spent more money campaigning in Pennsylvania than in any other state. Polling data before Election Day suggested that the race was too close to predict. On 2:30 A.M. on Wednesday, the state was called for Trump.

Wisconsin, like Pennsylvania, was a top priority for both campaigns and another close race. Leading up to Election Day, Harris seemed to have a one-point polling lead in Wisconsin. But by 5:35 A.M. on Wednesday, Trump was declared the winner in Wisconsin as well. This pushed him over the minimum 270 Electoral College votes he needed to secure the presidential victory.

There are still some final votes being counted in some states, including absentee ballots and early voting ballots. But the number of ballots not yet counted will not be enough to change the results in each individual state. Vice President Harris publicly conceded the race to Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon.

Key Congressional Races

Tuesday was also an important day for more than just the race for the White House. Key Congressional and governor races were decided across the country as well. In addition to securing the presidency, Republicans also gained control of the U.S. Senate for the first time in four years. As of Wednesday, final votes to determine which party controls the House of Representatives are still being counted. There are many House races still undecided. No matter which party wins control of the House, it is expected they will have a very narrow majority of only a few seats.

Overall, Republicans enjoyed many significant wins. They flipped Senate seats in Montana and West Virginia that had previously been held by Democrats and in Ohio, Republican Bernie Moreno managed to defeat long-time Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. In addition, Republicans managed to flip several predominantly Hispanic counties along the U.S.-Mexico border, which have been traditionally Democratic strongholds. In Pennsylvania, Matt Cartwright, a six-term Democrat, lost to his Republican challenger, Rob Bresnahan. And Republican Julie Fedorchak beat out Democrat Trygve Hammer by an almost two-to-one margin in North Dakota. Fedorchak’s victory makes her the first woman to represent North Dakota in the U.S. House.

However, Democrats enjoyed a few key victories in some swing states as well. Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, the first openly gay member of the Senate, managed to win a third term in a very close election despite former President Trump winning her state. Democrat Josh Stein also won his race for North Carolina governor, despite the state going for Trump. Similarly, Democrats Ruben Gallego in Arizona and Elissa Slotkin in Michigan are both expected to the win the Senate seats in their states.