As results from the 2024 U.S. presidential election roll in, Republican candidate Donald Trump has claimed a lead, winning over 20 states, including pivotal swing states like North Carolina. Early tallies reported by CNN show Trump securing 227 electoral votes to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’s 165, positioning him closer to the threshold needed for victory. With critical battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Arizona still tallying votes, the nation watches closely to see if Harris can turn the tide.
Fox News projected Trump as the winner in Pennsylvania, a blow to Harris’s campaign that could make it nearly impossible for her to clinch the presidency. Trump’s wins in North Carolina and Georgia have bolstered his comeback bid, four years after leaving office, and energized his base across regions that had turned away from him in 2020.
Trump, gaining momentum nationwide, has increased his support among Hispanic voters and lower-income households. Exit polls indicate he received 45% of the Hispanic vote, a notable increase from 2020, and he dominated among voters prioritizing economic issues, who favored him by a 79%-20% margin. Many Americans, feeling the financial pinch of inflation and economic uncertainty, sided with Trump, with 45% of voters expressing dissatisfaction with their financial situation compared to four years ago.
Trump Takes Lead
Markets appeared to anticipate a Trump victory, with U.S. stock futures and the dollar rising as election night wore on. “The market is starting to price a Trump win,” said Jens Nordvig, CEO of Exante, highlighting shifts in key financial metrics aligned with a possible Trump administration.
In Harris’s camp, optimism dimmed at a watch party held at her alma mater, Howard University, as her co-chair, Cedric Richmond, told the crowd that Harris would not be addressing supporters until further results came in. “We still have states that haven’t been called yet,” he said, underscoring the tense wait for final tallies.
In a marked contrast to 2020, Trump was outperforming his previous numbers in many areas across the country, showing gains in both suburban and rural areas, even improving in some traditionally Democratic urban centers. This broader, if modest, increase in support was visible in over half of U.S. counties reporting results by midnight ET.
Harris Falters
However, the race remains highly polarized. Nearly three-quarters of voters surveyed in exit polls voiced concern for the state of American democracy, with Trump and Harris presenting sharply different visions for the country’s future. While Harris warned that a second Trump term could threaten democratic norms, Trump continued to cast doubt on the election system, alleging fraud in key Democratic-leaning cities like Philadelphia and Detroit, claims met with swift denials from local officials.
Despite controversies, the election has been largely orderly, with only isolated disruptions, including some non-credible bomb threats reportedly tied to foreign sources.
In an election marked by historic firsts, Harris could become the first woman and person of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency, while Trump, if victorious, would be the first president in over a century to serve non-consecutive terms. As counting continues, the world waits to see who will emerge as America’s next leader in this high-stakes race.