Tuesday night lead turns into Wednesday morning victory for Trump

As state results started to come in during election night, Trump took an early but expected lead, winning reliably conservative-voting states and holding onto states like Iowa that he won in the past but that had been speculated to be in play this election cycle. As the night wore on, attention turned to the seven swing states that were thought to be critical to a victory from either side. Trump won the two Southern swing states. He was declared the winner in Georgia, where President Joe Biden narrowly defeated him in 2020, leading to Trump attempting to pressure state officials to “find” the votes necessary to win. Trump also emerged victorious in North Carolina, even as the candidate he endorsed for governor, the scandal-prone Mark Robinson, lost to his Democratic opponent.

How did Kamala Harris lose? Signs point to the ‘Blue Wall’ states

As Trump got closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the election, focus tightened to the three so-called “Blue Wall” states that had long been seen as crucial for a Democratic candidate to win: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Once The Associated Press announced Trump as the winner of Pennsylvania around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the chances of a Harris victory seemed slim. The AP’s declaration just after 5:30 a.m. that Trump had also won Wisconsin put him over the threshold to clinch victory. As of Wednesday morning, Trump also led Harris in the popular vote by nearly 5 million votes.

An end to a very unusual presidential race

Harris, who watched the election results from the campus of her alma mater, Howard University, did not address her supporters on Tuesday night but is expected to do so on Wednesday. The defeat is a disappointing end to a whirlwind campaign that took off just over three months earlier when Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee. Since then, Harris broke fundraising records, secured key political and celebrity endorsements, and performed strongly against Trump in their presidential debate.

Trump, meanwhile, was able to secure a victory despite many challenges, including his felony criminal convictions and outstanding legal troubles, which will likely go away or be significantly delayed as he returns to office. Trump was able to weather criticisms that he attempted to overthrow democracy in the aftermath of the 2020 election, including inciting the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and accusations that he will be a dictator and a fascist in his second term.

Many early polls were wrong

Even though polls conducted just before the election predicted a close race, with Harris leading in several swing states, these states and the electorate largely swung to Trump.

In the end, the impressive campaign launched by Harris and the fears expressed by many concerning a second Trump term were not enough to push the vice president over the top. Instead, the United States will not see its first woman president take office, and President-elect Trump will have a second chance to enact his agenda from the White House.