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Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, has become America’s 47th president after crossing the 270 electoral college-vote threshold necessary to clinch the presidential election and defeat Kamala Harris.
While a handful of states have yet to declare official winners, Trump locked down all of the states he was expected to, as well as several pivotal battleground states including North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He also was on track to win the popular vote for the first time in his three campaigns for America's highest political office. At 11 a.m. the day after the election, the vote totals were:
- Trump: 71,571,051 votes (51%).
- Harris: 66,712,662 votes (47.5%).
Trump’s victory follows a bitter, hard-fought campaign in which American voters were asked to choose between sitting Vice President Kamala Harris, who focused on the dangers a Trump presidency posed to democracy and women’s reproductive rights, and former President Trump, who asked them a classic challenger’s question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
After four years of a COVID epidemic, inflation spike, and an affordability crisis, America’s voters—like voters the world over—answered “no” and chose to punish the incumbent administration. A majority (52%) of respondents in an October Gallup poll said they and their family were worse off than four years before, a percentage only approached in 1992, when Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush after one term.
“Almost every major election in the world this year was a change election. Incumbents lost because voters believed their country was heading in the wrong direction,” Eurasia group founder and president Ian Bremmer posted on X. “The United States is no exception.”
Americans' desire for change was intense enough that about 3 in 10 voters told AP VoteCast, a massive nationwide survey of over 120,000 voters, that they wanted a total upheaval in how the U.S. is run—and more than half said they wanted substantial change.
The economy and immigration—Trump’s two top issues—far overshadowed Harris’s priorities of democracy and abortion in the same survey, with some 9 in 10 voters saying they were very or somewhat concerned about the cost of groceries.
Before receiving the official electoral votes required to win, Trump addressed a lively crowd at his Florida campaign headquarters, using his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Trump called the election result a “magnificent victory for the American people” and declared it the beginning of a “golden age” for the country.
He told supporters, “I hope one day you’ll look back and consider this one of the most important days of your life.” Trump also noted his party’s recapture of the Senate, saying, “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
Trump's election reverberated across world markets, as investors anticipated more market-friendly policies and economic growth.
The three main U.S: exchanges rose in premarket trading, with the Dow adding over 3%, while Trump Media—often viewed as a tracking stock for Trump’s election chances—spiked some 36% in early trading. Shares in Trump ally and funder Elon Musk’s Tesla also jumped more than 12%, while Bitcoin shot past $75,000 to a new all-time high, on Trump’s pledges of support for crypto.
Even stocks in Europe, which could be a casualty of a new “America First” Trump administration, managed to squeeze out 1% gains in early trading.
Shares in China, a likely target for massive tariffs under Trump, were the exception, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling over 2% and Shanghai’s index slipping a marginal 0.1%. The currency in regular Trump target Iran also took a massive hit, falling to a all-time low on his election.
Fortune will have plenty of reactions, insight, analysis, and reporting in the coming hours, days, and weeks. But first, let’s take a look at how the 2024 election went down.
How did the election results break down?
Our official tally:
- Kamala Harris has been declared victor in 17 states—Vermont, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, Delaware, New York, Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Minnesota, plus the District of Columbia, Maine's 1st congressional district, and Nebraska's 2nd congressional district—capturing 223 electoral votes.
- Donald Trump has been declared victor in 27 states—Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Louisiana, Wyoming, Ohio, Texas, Missouri, Utah, Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Idaho, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Maine's 2nd congressional district and Nebraska's 1st and 3rd congressional districts—capturing 279 electoral votes.
Remember, you need 270 electoral votes to win the U.S. presidential election.
What were the biggest headlines of Election Day 2024?
- Bitcoin smashes its all-time high as Trump clinches victory.
- The Trump trade rebounded as Election Day leaned Republican.
- Prediction markets surged towards Trump after results started rolling in.
- Elon Musk says he wants to be a political player even after the election is over.
- Russian meddlers targeted polling places with bomb threats in critical swing states.
- Trump Media stock was halted three times on Election Day after its price dropped 15% in 15 minutes.
When did polls close?
Below is a complete rundown of when polls closed for every U.S. state. Worth noting: Parts of some states close earlier than others, which we flagged.
6:00 p.m. ET: Kentucky (some polls close), Indiana (some polls close)
7:00 p.m. ET: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Florida (some polls close), New Hampshire (some polls close)
7:30 p.m. ET: North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida (some polls close), New Hampshire (some polls close)
8:00 p.m. ET: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Kansas (some polls close), Michigan (some polls close), North Dakota (some polls close), South Dakota (some polls close), Texas (some polls close)
8:30 p.m. ET: Arkansas, Kansas (some polls close), Michigan (some polls close), North Dakota (some polls close), South Dakota (some polls close), Texas (some polls close)
9:00 p.m. ET: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming
10:00 p.m. ET: Montana, Nevada, Utah, Idaho (some polls close), Oregon (some polls close)
11:00 p.m. ET: California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Midnight ET: Hawaii, Alaska (some polls close)
1:00 a.m. ET: Alaska
How did the polls compare to the results?
Here's a rundown of the notable final polls in the lead-up to Election Day:
NPR/PBS News/Marist: 51% Harris, 47% Trump
Reuters/Ipsos: 51% Harris, 47% Trump
ABC News/Ipsos: 49% Harris, 46% Trump
New York Times/Siena College: Harris leads in all but one swing state (Michigan)
Of course, Trump ended up winning the election—through the popular and electoral vote—by a considerable margin. For what it's worth, the limitations of polling are fairly well-documented.
What about prediction markets?
Polymarket users bet heavily on a Trump win.
On PredictIt, bets were also tilted in Trump's favor.
