Republicans won by shockingly large margins after what many thought would be a tight race.
Photo Credit: Reagan Reese
By Sarah Mester and Chloe Hunt
Election Day 2024 brought sweeping victories for former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Following his win, Trump delivered a victory speech from Florida at approximately 2:30 am EST announcing to the American people “Together we can truly make America great again for all Americans. I want to just tell you what a great honor this is. I want to thank you. I will not let you down.” Trump’s win represents a historic comeback unseen since Grover Cleveland’s nonconsecutive terms more than a century ago. Republicans took control of the Senate, but control of the House remains too close to call.
Presidential Race
According to AP News, as of Wednesday afternoon, Trump has secured 291 electoral votes—enough to win the Presidency—and Harris has secured 244 electoral votes. At this time, three states have not been called yet: Alaska, Arizona, and Nevada. Alaska is considered a solid, strongly-held Republican state, while the other two are “battleground” swing states that currently lean Republican as the votes continue to be counted. If Trump can officially secure these remaining states, he will have amassed a total of 312 electoral votes, comfortably securing the White House. Trump won Pennsylvania by 2.3%, with hard-to-win localities in Pennsylvania, such as Erie, turning out for the former President.
In Wisconsin, young voters aged 18-24, who comprise 9% of the state’s total electorate, came out in favor of the former President. This group opted for Trump at a whopping 52% compared to 45% for Harris. An NBC exit poll in Michigan reported a similar trend, finding that young voters sided with Trump in record numbers in the swing state.
The popular vote is still likely to shift because of continued counting, but according to CNN, Trump is currently up 3.5% (roughly 5 million votes) in the popular vote. Trump is projected to win the popular vote, which will make him the first Republican presidential candidate to do so since 2004.
Trump is now tasked with healing an incredibly divided nation, which he hinted at in his victory speech. “We’re going to help our country heal,” Trump said. “We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly.”
Harris’ projected loss has come as a surprise to many. Top Democrats have been reluctant to take to social media following Harris’ loss, with no remarks from former President Obama, Hillary Clinton, or President Biden as of Wednesday afternoon.
Vice President Harris officially conceded the 2024 election in a short call with Trump around 2:00 pm Wednesday afternoon. She is expected to deliver a concession speech in Washington, D.C. at her alma mater, Howard University. CNN reports that the remarks will take place at 4:00pm EST.
The Election in Numbers
Senate
34 Senate seats were up for election this cycle. Republicans flipped three seats and have won a majority of the Senate by two seats at this time, with Senate races in Pennsylvania and Nevada not yet called.
The Senate race in Pennsylvania remains too close to call. Incumbent Senator Bob Casey and his campaign remain “confident the Senator will be re-elected,” despite Republican candidate Dave McCormick’s current lead.
With 97% of the results currently in, McCormick holds a slim 1% margin over Senator Casey, attributed to rural Pennsylvania voters. Senator Casey overwhelmingly secured Pennsylvania’s more urban areas—Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, and Philadelphia.
House
Several dozen races still have not been called, with counting ongoing, and no majority has been declared by any major network. A total of 218 seats are needed to maintain the majority of the House, and according to CNN, Republicans have claimed 207 and Democrats have claimed 188. A small handful of these seats have flipped . Republicans have control of the 118th Congress and the 119th Congress is expected to follow suit after this election cycle, although the claim to the majority is still on the table.
In many districts, results might take days to finalize, so a final call regarding the control of the House cannot be made at this time. In Pennsylvania, Congressional districts seven and eight, which include Allentown and Scranton, flipped and elected Republicans in lieu of their Democratic incumbents.
Sarah Mester is a senior in the College studying Political Science and Classics from San Francisco, CA. She’s the Assistant News Editor for The Pennsylvania Post. Her email is smester@sas.upenn.edu.
Chloe Hunt is a senior in the College studying Creative Writing, Hispanic Studies, and Political Science from Roanoke, VA. Chloe is also the News Editor for The Pennsylvania Post. Her email is chloemwh@sas.upenn.edu.
