On November 6, Donald Trump was announced the winner of the 2024 presidential election. He was running for the Republican Party against Kamala Harris, who was representing the Democratic Party. This will be his second term in office, his first being when he won against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. He will be the first president since Grover Cleveland to win two nonconsecutive terms. Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance, will take office on January 20, 2025 on Inauguration Day.
A point of issue in this election was Trump’s criminal charges. These charges are regarding fraud to cover up hush money during his 2016 campaign. He was convicted by a Manhattan jury on May 30, 2024. This is the first time a convicted felon has run for office and also the first time that one has won. This is possible because the only requirements to run for president- based on the Constitution- is that you are a natural-born U.S. citizen, 34 years of age, and have been a resident of the U.S. for 14 years. Trump is scheduled to be back in the New York courtroom on November 26th in regards to sentencing.
Harris is the current Vice President under Joe Biden. Biden announced his plans for reelection as of April 2023. However, after a debate in July, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race. In a two-three week span, Harris ran a primary campaign to secure her spot as Biden’s successor. With Biden’s endorsement and Democratic support, Harris started her campaign.
During the election Trump won the electoral and popular vote. Trump received 312 electoral votes, whereas Harris received 226. To win a presidential election a candidate needs to receive 270 electoral votes. In every election there are swing states that play an important role in the outcome of the election. Some states will always vote Republican and others will always vote Democratic. In the 2024 election the swing states were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. All of these states ended up giving their votes to Trump.
Exit polls help us understand how specific groups voted in the election. This year’s polls show that more men voted Republican and more women voted Democratic. As well as those older in age voted Republican and those younger voted Democratic. There are many other groups that these polls highlight in addition to these.
Overall, this was a unique and competitive election. The presidential election always gets a lot of attention due to its high status. The outcome of this election will shape the path that the U.S. goes on for the next four years.
