The first results of the presidential election have arrived, with Donald Trump resoundingly taking back the presidency. His lead sits at 277 electoral votes, giving him a settled victory over Harris despite all votes not yet being settled in a few states.
Harris’ campaign had significant strength despite her late entrance to the race, amassing over 50 million dollars in donations within the first few days of her running. This being the case, she also gained the age advantage over Trump and is now the second woman to almost achieve the presidency over him.
Trump had a myriad of challenges within his campaign, facing indictments, an assassination attempt, and the expectation of a Democratic incumbent re-election.
The election was one of the closest in American history, with many experts predicting a full tie and questioning what this would mean in terms of voting judgment. In the event of a tie, the House of Representatives would choose which candidate one; however, as the House currently stands at 43% estimated Republican votes and 43% Democrat, this puts the House at a tie as well, which means that the results of that vote are relatively unpredictable.
All of this being said, Trump’s 7 electoral vote lead gives him the presidency regardless, which has both excited and concerned various groups of Americans.
Within the race, it was clear that the Democrat incumbent was not a relevant factor for many voters. States that were blue in the last cycle, like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia, were red this time around or are projected to finalize as red states. Pennsylvania, an essential swing state, also switched from blue to red this election. These crucial states gave Donald Trump the swing state votes he needed to solidify his victory.
Another contributing factor, according to multiple sources, is the introduction and advertisement of a betting app for the election. An app allowed individuals to bet on the election, and studies report that due to Trump being ahead initially as more Trump supporters downloaded the app, many voters who did not care about the results of the election voted in favor of Trump because they bet on the more likely winner within the application.
With the Republican Party taking the Senate and there being a chance they take the House, a Republican sweep is not out of the question.
