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Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Donald Trump increased his vote share across the US in his election triumph, claiming the battleground states of Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and bolstering his support among almost all social groups.
In clinching victory, Trump increased his vote share in every state apart from Washington. He was particularly strong in areas he had won in the last election, turning red states redder, in particular Florida and Texas.
That performance has put Trump on track to win a majority of the national popular vote for the first time. It would make him the first Republican to do since George W. Bush in 2004.
Trump also gained ground in traditional Democratic strongholds, closing the gap on Harris by 12 points in New York, 11 in Connecticut and 11 in New Jersey.
In Florida’s Latino-majority counties, Trump increased his vote share by almost eight points compared with four years earlier. He flipped Miami-Dade, the state’s most populous county, clinching more than 55 per cent of votes. In 2020, Joe Biden won the county with 53.4 per cent.
Trump also won Pennsylvania, which awards 19 electoral votes and was vital for Harris to win after her losses in Georgia and North Carolina. So far the President-elect has flipped four swing states and is projected to win the two that remain in the balance — Arizona and Nevada.
Across the US, the data shows urban voters did not come through strongly enough for Harris, while people in rural areas turned out for Trump. He improved on his 2020 margin in almost 90 per cent of counties nationwide.
The Republican candidate gained support among huge swaths of the electorate compared with 2020, according to exit poll data. Asian, Black, Hispanic and white voters all moved towards Trump. Harris only increased her vote share among the over-65s and with white college-educated women.
Democratic and Republican voters were split on their most important issues. Trump had almost 90 per cent of support among those who said they cared most about immigration and three-quarters of those who prioritised the economy. Harris won just over 80 per cent among voters who placed the state of democracy highest.
Long-shot goals for Harris went far by the wayside. A poll last weekend by “gold standard” pollster J Ann Selzer showed Harris leading by an unexpected three points in staunchly conservative Iowa, buoying Democratic hopes. With nearly all votes counted, Trump is 14 points ahead in the state.
In North Carolina, a state Republicans have won in every election since 2012 but with increasingly narrow margins, the former president increased his vote share. He also managed to flip three counties — Nash, Pasquotank and Anson — from the Democrats.
Georgia, another state where the Harris campaign poured in resources, has been flipped by Trump. He leads with 50.7 per cent of the vote compared with Harris’s 48.5 per cent.
