Former President Donald Trump has been projected to secure a second term in the White House, a historic comeback nearly four years after departing under legal and political uncertainty.
Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) called the election for Trump after he clinched Pennsylvania and Alaska, bringing him to the necessary 270 electoral votes.
The win comes in a contentious race against Vice President Kamala Harris, amid a series of unforeseen events: Trump faced a criminal trial during the campaign, endured two assassination attempts, and witnessed a late reshuffle atop the Democratic ticket following President Biden’s decision to step down.
This victory makes Trump the first president since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to reclaim the White House after an electoral defeat.
His path to victory included flipping key states like Georgia and solidifying his hold on North Carolina, with battleground polling remaining razor-thin until Election Day. Trump also made gains in the popular vote, a feat Republicans have achieved only once since 1992.
Campaigning with Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate, Trump seized on widespread concerns over rising costs, border security, and global unrest to rally voters around a return to his policies.
Exit polls highlighted a strong turnout among Latino voters, increased rural support, and near parity with Harris among young men, a demographic his campaign had aggressively targeted.
Trump’s agenda signals a hardline approach: he has pledged sweeping immigration enforcement, extending his 2017 tax cuts, enacting universal tariffs, rolling back transgender protections, and dismantling the Department of Education.
In addition, Trump has committed to assembling an administration loyal to his vision.
Despite a traditionally difficult path with female voters, Trump was able to offset potential losses on the issue of abortion, which became a central theme following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Harris highlighted this issue throughout her campaign, but it ultimately did not sway enough voters to her side.
Trump’s victory could shift the Supreme Court further to the right, as Republicans regained Senate control.
Having narrowly won the presidency in 2016 and lost in 2020, Trump’s return caps a period marked by his vehement, yet unproven, assertions of electoral fraud.
The 2023 federal indictment over his post-2020 actions remains ongoing, but Trump has indicated his intent to dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith, potentially hindering ongoing investigations.
