How big was Trump’s win? How it compares with the past 10 presidential victories
Former President Donald Trump will return to the White House as the country's 47th commander-in-chief after winning a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Electoral College.
Following his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, two impeachments, and two assassination attempts, the GOP nominee's stunning political comeback came with a high margin of victory. Based on projections, 2024 will mark the first time since 2004 that a Republican has won the popular vote. Despite polls predicting a tight race, Trump had already swept key swing states including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by the time most Americans woke up the morning after casting their ballots.
At 78, he will become the oldest person elected to the country's highest office and only the second president in history after Grover Cleveland to serve two nonconsecutive terms.
Between Trump's felony conviction in New York and Harris entering the race only 107 days before Election Day after Biden dropped his reelection bid, both candidates ran unprecedented campaigns. Trump claimed victory at around 2:30 a.m. on stage at a rally in Florida, pledging to usher in a "golden age" for the country and "make America great again."
"This is a movement like nobody's ever seen before and, frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time," Trump said. "There's never been anything like this in this country."
How do 2024 results compare to Trump's 2020 and 2016 performance?
As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump is projected to have won at least 292 Electoral College votes. If he wins the states still counting votes — Arizona and Nevada — where he is currently ahead, he will have earned 309. Candidates need 270 to secure the presidency. And, as of Wednesday morning Trump was leading Harris by nearly five million votes in the popular vote — a margin that could shrink or grow as final results roll in.
Trump's margin of victory is sizable in comparison to his triumph in in 2016, the last time he won the White House. That year, Trump secured 306 Electoral College votes. He lost the popular vote to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by nearly three million votes, making Clinton the fifth presidential candidate in history and second in the 21st century to win the popular vote but lose the Electoral College.
Four years later, Biden prevailed over Trump by also securing 306 Electoral College votes in 2020. He defeated Trump in the popular vote with a margin of more than seven million votes.
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How big was Trump's 2024 victory in comparison to past elections?
Former President Barack Obama won the Electoral College and popular vote when Americans elected him in 2012 and 2008. He secured 332 electoral votes in 2012, beating Sen. Mitt Romney in the popular vote by nearly five million votes. Obama earned 365 electoral votes and defeated Sen. John McCain by roughly nine-and-a-half million votes in the popular vote in 2008.
Former President George W. Bush lost the popular vote when he first was elected in 2000 but won it when he secured reelection in 2004. He earned 286 electoral votes and defeated former Secretary of State John Kerry in the popular vote by roughly three million votes in 2004.
George W. Bush lost the popular vote to former Vice President Al Gore by about half a million votes in 2000. Following a Supreme Court decision about contested results in Florida five weeks after Election Day, a ruling granted Bush the state's electoral votes, bringing his total to 271 that year.
Former President Bill Clinton took the Electoral College and the popular vote in 1992 and 1996. He secured 370 electoral votes and defeated former President George H. W. Bush in the popular vote by nearly six million votes in 1992. Four years later, he earned 379 electoral votes against Sen. Robert Dole and won the popular vote by roughly eight million votes.
George H.W. Bush prevailed over then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1988 in the popular vote, earning seven million more votes. He secured 426 electoral votes that year.
Former President Ronald Reagan was reelected in 1984 over former Vice President Walter Mondale. He won in a landslide, receiving 525 electoral votes and beating Mondale in the popular vote by nearly 17 million votes.
Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@usatoday.com and follow her on X @rachelbarber_