The dust is beginning to settle on the 2024 election, and it is the Republicans who walked out with the undoubted victory. First and foremost, former president Donald Trump has won himself a second term, beating democratic nominee and former vice president Kamala Harris 312 electoral votes to 226.
Although the race started out pretty tight, Trump pulled away by winning multiple key battleground states including North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada, and a major win in Pennsylvania. Trump also dominated rural counties this election. “I was pretty shocked that he won all the battleground states, I definitely wasn’t expecting it.” said an anonymous ERHS student.
The wins came as a shock to many people, as in 2020 democratic president Joe Biden had won all the states listed above excluding North Carolina. Trump also dominated in smaller rural counties, which stacked up against Harris. Although she often was victorious in the big cities, the many smaller rural counties that swung Trump’s way created a death-by-1000 cuts scenario.
The Senate has also fallen back into republican control with the conservatives gaining 4 seats and making it now 47-53. “For the Senate to go from 49-51 to 53-47 is wild.” said an anonymous ERHS parent.
There has been a democratic majority in the chamber since 2021, but the 34 seats decided in the election have changed everything.
These major shifts in power give the republican party lots of power in the next few years. Trump’s decisions will no doubt be backed by majority rule in the Senate. This election was no doubt a surprise to the nation, as people wonder what went wrong for the democrats. Many people are pointing fingers at the fact that Kamala had to inherit the position at such a late notice when Joe Biden dropped out.
However, the only thing that is clear, is that the Republicans are the big winners in this election. Although this is a decision that sparks high emotions for many, President Biden asked for a peaceful transfer of power, a call for all Americans of different opinions to unite and stand together regardless of the outcome.
