It felt like the world stopped for a second on that Tuesday in November. If you were watching the news, you probably remember the map slowly bleeding red in places it wasn't supposed to. Most people know the big name, but the question of who did trump win against in 2016 actually has a few different layers depending on whether you’re talking about the general election or the brutal primary season that came before it.
Honestly, it wasn't just a race against one person. It was a race against the entire political establishment.
The Main Event: Hillary Clinton
The short answer is Hillary Clinton. She was the Democratic nominee, a former First Secretary of State, and basically the person everyone—and I mean everyone—expected to win.
Clinton actually won the popular vote. She got about 65.8 million votes compared to Trump’s 62.9 million. That’s a gap of nearly 3 million people. But as we all learned in civics class (or the hard way that night), the popular vote doesn't seat the President. The Electoral College does. Trump cleared the hurdles there with 304 electoral votes to Clinton's 227.
Why did she lose? It’s complicated. She struggled in the "Blue Wall" states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. These were places Democrats hadn't lost in decades. Trump’s message resonated with white working-class voters there who felt left behind by globalization. Clinton’s campaign also took some heat for not visiting Wisconsin a single time during the general election. You’ve probably heard the "deplorables" comment she made, too. That definitely didn't help her case with swing voters.
The Others: Third-Party Spoilers?
People often forget that it wasn't just a two-person race. A lot of voters were frustrated with both main options and looked elsewhere.
- Gary Johnson: The Libertarian candidate. He pulled in about 4.5 million votes (over 3%). In a race decided by thin margins in a few states, that's huge.
- Jill Stein: The Green Party nominee. She got around 1.4 million votes.
- Evan McMullin: He ran as an independent, mostly focusing on Utah where he actually put up a decent fight against the big two.
Some analysts argue these candidates acted as "spoilers," taking enough votes away from Clinton in states like Michigan to hand the win to Trump. Whether that's 100% true is still debated in political science circles, but they definitely changed the math.
The Primary Gauntlet: Who He Beat First
Before he ever faced Clinton, Trump had to survive the Republican primary. This was a "clown car" situation with 17 major candidates. He wasn't supposed to win this either.
He basically bullied and outmaneuvered seasoned politicians like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich. He famously nicknamed them "Lying Ted" and "Little Marco." Even Jeb Bush, who had a massive war chest of campaign cash, couldn't stand up to the momentum. By the time the Republican National Convention rolled around, Trump had effectively dismantled the GOP old guard.
The "Faithless" Factor
Here is a weird trivia bit: the final Electoral College numbers weren't actually what happened on election night. On election night, it looked like 306 for Trump and 232 for Clinton.
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However, when the electors actually met to cast their official ballots, seven of them went rogue. These are called "faithless electors." Five of them were supposed to vote for Clinton but chose people like Bernie Sanders or Colin Powell instead. Two were supposed to vote for Trump. This is why the official record shows 304 to 227.
What This Means for Today
Understanding who did trump win against in 2016 is more than a history lesson. It explains the current political divide. Trump didn't just win against a person; he won by tapping into a specific type of geographic and demographic frustration.
If you want to understand modern elections, you need to look at the "Rust Belt" shift. That 2016 map changed how both parties talk to voters in the Midwest.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the Data: Look up the "validated voter" reports from Pew Research. They show how education levels became the biggest predictor of how someone would vote, a trend that started in 2016 and still holds today.
- Verify Your State: Use the National Archives website to see how your specific state’s electors voted. It’s fascinating to see the actual certificates of ascertainment.
- Watch the Primaries: If you’re curious about how he did it, go back and watch the first few GOP debates from 2015. You can see the exact moment the traditional political rules stopped working.
The 2016 election was a total black swan event. It proved that you can lose the "crowd" but win the "room," provided the room is the Electoral College.