Republican Donald J. Trump reclaimed the presidency as the 47th president of the United States Wednesday morning, defeating Howard alumna Vice President Kamala Harris.
With 277 electoral college votes, he secured the presidency surpassing the 270 needed on Nov. 6. Harris collected 224 electoral votes.
“This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to Make America Great Again,” Trump said at Palm Beach County Convention Center early Wednesday morning after Fox News projected him to win the 2024 presidential race.
Counts in Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Maine and Alaska could still determine how wide his victory margin will be. Nevada, Michigan and Arizona are also leaning in his favor as of Nov. 6 morning.
The former president triumphed in crucial battleground states including Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Following criminal convictions and two impeachments, Trump has become the second president in U.S. history to win non-consecutive terms. His comeback follows his refusal to accept defeat four years ago, an event that led to the storming of the U.S. Capitol, and after surviving two assassination attempts.
“We are all one by the MAGA movement,” Trump said during his 25-minute address.
He discussed the Senate victories, adding, “The number of victories in the Senate was incredible and we did tele rallies with each one of them.”
In a decisive turn of events, Republicans regained control of the U.S. Senate. A significant victory for the party after three years of being shut out of the majority.
To secure control, each party needed to reach or surpass the 50-seat threshold, and the GOP’s victories in key battleground states proved decisive.
Republicans managed to flip several crucial Senate seats from Democrat-held districts, overcoming significant challenges and tight margins in competitive states.
With a final count of 51 seats for the GOP, the Republicans were able to edge out the Democrats, who held 49 seats in the new Senate.
The GOP’s victories in battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida played a key role in their return. Ohio and Pennsylvania were among the most closely contested races; in Ohio, Bernie Moreno won with a margin of 4 percent, and in Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick won with a margin of 0.008 percent.
Although Democrats managed to hold on to key seats in traditionally blue states like Michigan and Arizona; Elissa Slotkin of Michigan claimed victory with 0.1 percent and Ruben Gallego of Arizona defeated Republican Kari Lake with 2.8 percent.
In Maryland, Democrat Angela Alsobrooks made history by defeating Republican Larry Hogan in a hotly contested race.
Alsobrooks became the first woman and black person elected to represent Maryland in the Senate, along with Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester, who also won her Senate race against Republican Eric Hansen.
They made history once again as the first two Black women to serve in the Senate simultaneously.
They follow in the footsteps of Carol Moseley Braun, who made history as the first Black women to serve in the Senate, and Harris.
The Harris-Waltz campaign was stationed on The Yard at Howard on election night where attendees were waiting to hear from her. However, Harris did not address the crowd.
Harris is scheduled to give remarks today at 4 p.m. EST on The Yard Wednesday.
Copy edited by Camiryn Stepteau
