8 Key Reasons Why Trump Won 2024
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Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re breaking down the factors that led to former president Donald Trump winning the 2024 election to become the 47th president of the United States, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
America’s Rightward Shift
As reported by the New York Times’ Reid J. Epstein, President-elect Trump won Florida, Ohio, and Texas by over ten percentage points each. While that, in itself, might not have been terribly shocking, Epstein noted that “Blue states shifted, too. New York moved 13 points toward him, and Virginia shifted six points in his direction.” This shift, which reportedly blindsided Democrats and their supporters, would appear to stem from voter dissatisfaction with the Biden presidency. VP Harris notably struggled to convince the public that her administration would differ significantly from President Biden’s; overall, Democrats underestimated Trump’s appeal as a political outsider, costing them the election.
Florida & Ohio Go Reliably Red
While it may seem like a distant memory in 2024, when Trump won both states by double-digits, there was a time when the now solidly-red states of Ohio and Florida were actually battleground zones where Democrats also stood a chance. However, in recent years, the states have moved decisively to the right: as reported by CNN’s Eric Bradner, Gregory Krieg[a] and Daniel Strauss, “Florida could be on track to become the next Texas — poised for a generation of Republican dominance built on a coalition of older, non-college-educated voters, younger Hispanic voters, conservatives migrating from other states and more.” Most damningly for Democrats, CNN wrote that Miami-Dade County, which Hilary Clinton won overwhelmingly in 2016, was taken handily by Trump in 2024.
Roe v. Wade Fallout Wasn’t Enough For Democrats
Over the course of his 2024 presidential campaign, abortion was one issue that Trump consistently faced backlash on, regardless of party affiliations. While the president-elect has gone back and forth on his personal position, seemingly favoring leaving the procedure up to the states, it’s inarguable that Republican opposition to abortion galvanized Harris voters. Ultimately, however, Harris’ reliance on the issue to topple the Trump empire proved to be an unsuccessful maneuver. We’ll get into the specifics of the Trump campaign’s primary issues a bit later, but for now, it seems that the Democrats’ banking on voter outrage with regard to abortion was not sufficient motivation to swing the public their way, despite major gains off the back of the issue in 2022.
The Political Gender Gap
For the second time in eight years and three presidential elections, Donald Trump won a considerable victory over a female Democratic candidate. According to CNN’s exit polling, voting was polarized along gender lines, with men voting overwhelmingly for Trump and women for Harris. It’s crucially important to point out that the Trump campaign leveraged the Internet to reach out to young men, having the former president appear on wildly popular podcasts hosted by comedians Joe Rogan and Theo Von. In addition, Trump also benefited greatly from his Elon Musk endorsement: the world’s richest man poured over $100 million into a super PAC supporting Trump, and also made use of the social media platform X, which he owns.
The Trump Campaign Successfully Courted Latino Voters
After significantly losing the Latino male vote to President Biden in 2020, Trump did his best to make up for lost time in 2024. His subsequent efforts to court men of color were an overwhelming success: Trump won Latino men by eight points in 2024, with a huge chunk of those votes coming from Florida and Texas. In a stark but illuminating contrast, Vice President Harris predictably won the Democratic stronghold that is California, but as noted by Axios[b], “appeared to be underperforming Biden's 2020 numbers in several other heavily Latino areas — including Merced County, where 64% of the population is Latino.”
Republicans Reclaim the Senate
In yet another sign of general voter unhappiness and malaise, Republicans made major gains following closely-watched Senate races in Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia. At the time of writing, control of the House of Representatives (where Republicans already have a majority) hadn’t yet been determined, but as noted by Reuters, Republican victory there would “[help] Trump deliver on his promise to slash taxes and restrict immigration, for at least the next two years until the 2026 midterm elections.” However, it seems worth pointing out that, despite their overall control of the Senate, “Republicans will not secure the 60-vote majority needed to advance most legislation in the chamber.”
Voter Frustration With the Biden Administration
Democrats are surely licking their wounds at what comes as a devastating defeat to them, a rebuttal by voters to four years under Joe Biden. However, we’re not sure they should be terribly surprised: for years, the party seemed to dismiss public and political concerns about President Biden’s cognitive abilities, as well as his advanced age — at the time, Biden was the oldest elected president (he’s since been surpassed by Trump). Similarly, although Biden is credited with reducing inflation and helping to lead the country to recovery following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American people can’t help but express anger, frustration, and fear at an unstable housing market and the sky-high prices of food and gas.
Immigration & the Economy
It speaks volumes about the mindset of the general American public that Trump could be the first Republican president since George W. Bush in 2004 to win the popular vote — a feat the president-elect couldn’t even achieve in his first term, when he decisively lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. And this is despite being the first convicted felon to hold the nation’s highest office. As noted by the Associated Press, the 45th and 47th president met voters where they were at: “Overall, about half of Trump voters said inflation was the biggest issue factoring into their election decisions. About as many said that of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to AP VoteCast.”
Were you shocked by the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election? Let us know in the comments below!
[a]https://youtu.be/V1pmVrqI5Ts?si=tr_UH-SRnY6P-nqO&t=45
https://youtu.be/H4zKOfH9AHE?si=oqlUtCspEn6Xu9Qi&t=815
[b]https://youtu.be/JtRVGx6AvMY?si=B9Wt4sGVLiw0uzHz&t=12
mur-SAID https://youtu.be/ZITZMBCjdgw?si=1LIUzoKXAPHjxQfI&t=3
America’s Rightward Shift
As reported by the New York Times’ Reid J. Epstein, President-elect Trump won Florida, Ohio, and Texas by over ten percentage points each. While that, in itself, might not have been terribly shocking, Epstein noted that “Blue states shifted, too. New York moved 13 points toward him, and Virginia shifted six points in his direction.” This shift, which reportedly blindsided Democrats and their supporters, would appear to stem from voter dissatisfaction with the Biden presidency. VP Harris notably struggled to convince the public that her administration would differ significantly from President Biden’s; overall, Democrats underestimated Trump’s appeal as a political outsider, costing them the election.
Florida & Ohio Go Reliably Red
While it may seem like a distant memory in 2024, when Trump won both states by double-digits, there was a time when the now solidly-red states of Ohio and Florida were actually battleground zones where Democrats also stood a chance. However, in recent years, the states have moved decisively to the right: as reported by CNN’s Eric Bradner, Gregory Krieg[a] and Daniel Strauss, “Florida could be on track to become the next Texas — poised for a generation of Republican dominance built on a coalition of older, non-college-educated voters, younger Hispanic voters, conservatives migrating from other states and more.” Most damningly for Democrats, CNN wrote that Miami-Dade County, which Hilary Clinton won overwhelmingly in 2016, was taken handily by Trump in 2024.
Roe v. Wade Fallout Wasn’t Enough For Democrats
Over the course of his 2024 presidential campaign, abortion was one issue that Trump consistently faced backlash on, regardless of party affiliations. While the president-elect has gone back and forth on his personal position, seemingly favoring leaving the procedure up to the states, it’s inarguable that Republican opposition to abortion galvanized Harris voters. Ultimately, however, Harris’ reliance on the issue to topple the Trump empire proved to be an unsuccessful maneuver. We’ll get into the specifics of the Trump campaign’s primary issues a bit later, but for now, it seems that the Democrats’ banking on voter outrage with regard to abortion was not sufficient motivation to swing the public their way, despite major gains off the back of the issue in 2022.
The Political Gender Gap
For the second time in eight years and three presidential elections, Donald Trump won a considerable victory over a female Democratic candidate. According to CNN’s exit polling, voting was polarized along gender lines, with men voting overwhelmingly for Trump and women for Harris. It’s crucially important to point out that the Trump campaign leveraged the Internet to reach out to young men, having the former president appear on wildly popular podcasts hosted by comedians Joe Rogan and Theo Von. In addition, Trump also benefited greatly from his Elon Musk endorsement: the world’s richest man poured over $100 million into a super PAC supporting Trump, and also made use of the social media platform X, which he owns.
The Trump Campaign Successfully Courted Latino Voters
After significantly losing the Latino male vote to President Biden in 2020, Trump did his best to make up for lost time in 2024. His subsequent efforts to court men of color were an overwhelming success: Trump won Latino men by eight points in 2024, with a huge chunk of those votes coming from Florida and Texas. In a stark but illuminating contrast, Vice President Harris predictably won the Democratic stronghold that is California, but as noted by Axios[b], “appeared to be underperforming Biden's 2020 numbers in several other heavily Latino areas — including Merced County, where 64% of the population is Latino.”
Republicans Reclaim the Senate
In yet another sign of general voter unhappiness and malaise, Republicans made major gains following closely-watched Senate races in Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia. At the time of writing, control of the House of Representatives (where Republicans already have a majority) hadn’t yet been determined, but as noted by Reuters, Republican victory there would “[help] Trump deliver on his promise to slash taxes and restrict immigration, for at least the next two years until the 2026 midterm elections.” However, it seems worth pointing out that, despite their overall control of the Senate, “Republicans will not secure the 60-vote majority needed to advance most legislation in the chamber.”
Voter Frustration With the Biden Administration
Democrats are surely licking their wounds at what comes as a devastating defeat to them, a rebuttal by voters to four years under Joe Biden. However, we’re not sure they should be terribly surprised: for years, the party seemed to dismiss public and political concerns about President Biden’s cognitive abilities, as well as his advanced age — at the time, Biden was the oldest elected president (he’s since been surpassed by Trump). Similarly, although Biden is credited with reducing inflation and helping to lead the country to recovery following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American people can’t help but express anger, frustration, and fear at an unstable housing market and the sky-high prices of food and gas.
Immigration & the Economy
It speaks volumes about the mindset of the general American public that Trump could be the first Republican president since George W. Bush in 2004 to win the popular vote — a feat the president-elect couldn’t even achieve in his first term, when he decisively lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. And this is despite being the first convicted felon to hold the nation’s highest office. As noted by the Associated Press, the 45th and 47th president met voters where they were at: “Overall, about half of Trump voters said inflation was the biggest issue factoring into their election decisions. About as many said that of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to AP VoteCast.”
Were you shocked by the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election? Let us know in the comments below!
[a]https://youtu.be/V1pmVrqI5Ts?si=tr_UH-SRnY6P-nqO&t=45
https://youtu.be/H4zKOfH9AHE?si=oqlUtCspEn6Xu9Qi&t=815
[b]https://youtu.be/JtRVGx6AvMY?si=B9Wt4sGVLiw0uzHz&t=12
mur-SAID https://youtu.be/ZITZMBCjdgw?si=1LIUzoKXAPHjxQfI&t=3
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