In a display of unprecedented power, former President Donald Trump was on his way to making a remarkable comeback in an election where most predicted his defeat. He was projected to win the race to the White House with 276 electoral votes, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris in the dust.
This perceived election win was tied to Trump’s triumph in Wisconsin, a victory which added 10 electoral college votes to his camp. Despite negative conjecture around his chances, his winning streak did not end there. Both Georgia and Pennsylvania, holding 16 and 19 electoral votes respectively, also fell under Trump’s victorious mantle.
It was a painful development for the Democrats, as both Georgia and Pennsylvania had been won by President Joe Biden in the previous elections. But, however much they attempted to defy history’s course, these states embraced Trump anew.
Contrary to the Democrats’ hopeful murmurings, Trump emerged from his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort with a well-deserved aura of victory. Yet, votes were still being counted when he humbly thanked the American public for their continued trust. ‘I am honoured to be elected your 47th president and your 45th president’, he earnestly expressed.
There was still contention surrounding several crucial states, including Michigan, Nevada and Arizona. Their fate was yet to be decided. But once again, Trump surprisingly came out on top, projected to win North Carolina. The state held significant value for both candidates, after a fiercely fought battle in 2020.
Tracing back to Democratic victories in the state since 1968, only former Presidents Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter have had the good fortune to capture it, with Obama doing so only once in 2008. Trump, on the other hand, had previously claimed victory in North Carolina in 2020 by a margin which undercut the Democrat’s performance.
Further defying expectations, Trump was envisaged to emerge victorious in multiple other states beyond North Carolina. These included Ohio, Iowa, West Virginia, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and South Carolina. On the contrary, reports about Kamala Harris projected her to merely achieve victory in New Jersey and Minnesota.
While Harris was also viewed as the presumptive victor in other states including Colorado, Delaware, Vermont, New Mexico, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia, her overall performance still paled in comparison to Trump’s robust electoral map.
Harris gleaned a glimmer of hope with her projected win in California, as soon as the polls were closed. It wasn’t unexpected though; after all, California has been long stranded in the sea of blue, offering the most electoral college votes. Oregon, Washington – they followed the predicted course, pledging their handful of votes to her as well.
Trump, ever the pragmatic contender, cast careful skepticism upon the integrity of the election process. Alluding to potential malfeasance in Philadelphia, he sparked intense debates and successfully highlighted the urgency of a fair election. ‘A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia,’ Trump claimed. ‘Law Enforcement coming!!!’
While there were reported threats to a polling site in Arizona and alleged links to Russia, these appeared to be baseless. Even the Federal Bureau of Investigations stated, ‘The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.’
Former President Barack Obama, a pillar of Democrat leadership, tried to downplay the stark reality of the outcome. He urged patience, citing long ballot counting processes and indirectly alluding to a change in tide from the 2020 electoral outcome. The Democrats, it seemed, were left clinging on to slender threads of hope.
Their defeat was all the more devastating when considering the swing states. Five states that Trump captured in 2016, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, had been flipped by Biden in the 2020 elections. They significantly contributed to Biden’s 306 electoral college votes and inflated popular vote-yield. Trump, however, chipped away at this illusion.
In the end, the perception prevailed that Trump claimed a larger share of the American voters’ trust, overshadowing Biden’s approximately 51.3% of the vote in 2020. And as the dust settled, it appeared that, despite Democrat smear campaigns and media slights, the truth of the people’s choice was clear – Trump seemed to take the lead yet again.