Donald Trump did. He’s the 47th President of the United States.
Honestly, the map looked a lot redder than most pollsters predicted on the eve of the vote. It wasn’t just a narrow squeak through the Electoral College either. For the first time in twenty years, a Republican candidate actually secured the popular vote. Trump pulled in roughly 77.3 million votes compared to Kamala Harris’s 75 million. That’s a gap of about 2.3 million people.
It was a decisive night.
The Magic Number: 312
You’ve probably heard that 270 is the number everyone chases. Trump blew past that. He finished with 312 electoral votes, while Harris sat at 226.
If you look at the raw map, the story of who won the presidential elections was written in the "Blue Wall" states. Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. These were supposed to be the fortress for the Democrats. Instead, they all flipped.
How the Swing States Fell
Everyone was glued to the seven big battlegrounds: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
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Trump ran the table.
He won all seven. That is incredibly hard to do in modern American politics. North Carolina was the first big domino to fall, followed closely by Georgia. Once Pennsylvania was called in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the math for Kamala Harris basically evaporated.
The Nevada win was particularly interesting. A Republican hadn’t won there since George W. Bush in 2004. Trump took it by about 3 points.
Shifting Demographics and the Latino Vote
What really caught the experts off guard wasn't just that he won, but how he won.
The old political rules say that as the country gets more diverse, Republicans struggle. 2024 flipped that script on its head. Trump made massive gains with Hispanic men. In some places, like the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, the shift was seismic.
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Pew Research later confirmed that Trump grabbed about 46% of the total Hispanic vote. That’s a 12-point jump from his 2020 performance. Even among Black voters, specifically younger men, his support doubled from 8% to 15%.
It turns out the economy was the great equalizer. People were tired of paying seven dollars for a dozen eggs and five bucks for a gallon of gas. They voted with their wallets.
The Harris Campaign and the Howard Speech
Kamala Harris entered the race late.
After Joe Biden stepped aside in July, she had about a hundred days to build a national infrastructure. She raised over a billion dollars. She had the celebrities. She had the momentum through August.
But it wasn't enough to overcome the "incumbent drag."
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On Wednesday, November 6, she stood on the stage at Howard University—her alma mater—and gave a concession speech that was surprisingly resolute. She told her supporters, "While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign."
Why the Polls Were Sorta Wrong Again
We keep hearing that polling is fixed, but 2024 showed that "shy Trump voters" or perhaps just "unreachable voters" are still a thing. Most major outlets had the race as a "margin of error" toss-up.
While the race was close in terms of percentages—Trump won the popular vote by about 1.5%—the sweep of the battlegrounds made it feel like a landslide.
Key Factors in the Victory:
- Inflation: This was the "silent killer" for the Harris campaign.
- Immigration: Trump’s focus on the border resonated in states far from the actual border.
- The "Non-College" Vote: The divide between degree holders and those without them grew even wider. Trump won non-college voters by roughly 14 points.
What Happens Now?
The inauguration took place on January 20, 2025.
Since then, the focus has shifted from "who won" to "what are they doing." With Republicans also taking control of the Senate (53 seats) and holding a slim majority in the House, the 47th President has a relatively clear path for his legislative agenda.
If you're looking to stay updated on how the current administration's policies are affecting the economy or your local taxes, your best bet is to follow the official legislative trackers or non-partisan sites like Ballotpedia and the Federal Election Commission for finalized spending reports.
Check your local voter registration status now so you’re ready for the 2026 midterms. It’s the easiest way to ensure your voice is actually part of the data next time around.