Election day has finally came with surprising results across the country. In another big year filled with many questions on who would win between Vice President and former Attorney General Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, most people felt like it was going to come down to the wire. Many were focused on the seven swing states which in this election, were Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Once Results rolled in, Trump won all seven swing states, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Of these states, Donald Trump was able to win all three in 2016 before losing them in 2020. He regained them this year which helped him secure the 270 electoral votes he needed to become the next president. Georgia and Arizona, which also went to Biden in 2020, swung back to Trump this year as well. Trump won both states by less than 3%, but more comfortably than people projected. North Carolina, which also went to Trump this year and was the only swing state Trump won in 2020, had another 16 electoral votes which Trump was able to capture 51.1% to 47.7%. Another state Trump was able to pick up this year was Nevada, which was the only state he never won the first two times he ran. It was the first time since 2000 Nevada voted for a Republican Presidential Candidate. Trump gave his victory speech around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 6. Meanwhile, Harris did not speak on Election Day; she spoke later on Nov. 6, thanking everyone that voted for her and telling her supporters to not to give up hope and to peacefully hand over the presidency to Trump.
Voters also decided on the Senate and House races alongside the Presidential election. According to The Hill, Republicans had a 71% chance of winning the Senate and a 54% chance of winning the House. For more information on the projections check out these links: https://elections2024.thehill.com/forecast/2024/president/ https://elections2024.thehill.com/forecast/2024/senate/ https://elections2024.thehill.com/forecast/2024/house/
There were 33 senate races in 2024 with the largest happening in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio. In Ohio, which was supposed to be a tossup race, Republican Bernie Moreno defeated Democrat Sherrod Brown 50.2% to 46.4%. In the other swing states including Wisconsin and Michigan, Democrats Tammy Baldwin and Elisa Slotkin won races they were expected to win by 3-4%, but only won by 1%. Meanwhile in Pennsylvania unexpectedly, Republican Dave McCormick beat Bob Casey 48.9% to 48.5% in a very close race. In Arizona and Nevada, the races for the Senate are also tight with Democrats Ruben Gallego and Jacky Rosen narrowly leading Republicans Sam Brown and Kari Lake; both states have not finished completing results though and could end up changing. Overall, Republicans are happy they were able to hold seats in Montana, Florida and Texas, winning all of them comfortably even after only being projected to win by a few points.
After the Senate comes the House, which has 435 seats with one party needing to control 218 seats to win. Even though there are lots of close races, one of the most closely watched ones so far in Michigan was in District 8 between Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet and Republican Paul Junge. Even though Republicans had a very good election cycle, one of the few bright spots for Democrats was winning this race with Kristen McDonald Rivet winning by 6-7% after only expected to win by 1-2. So far, according to the The Hill, Republicans lead the House 216-204, while needing 218 for majority. If Republicans win the House as well they will control all three chambers in Washington D.C.
With all that being said, Republicans swept all seven swing states and are projected to control the Senate and the House. Even though there aren’t a lot of bright spots for Democrats, they can still be hopeful the House turns blue with some close races and ballots still to be counted. Overall though, Republicans came out victorious in the 2024 election cycle. Aside from the general elections, Laura Setzke and Dana Jones won the Fenton School Board, securing 2,569 and and 2,201 votes respectively.
