The 2024 US Presidential Election concluded with Donald Trump’s victory, marking his return to the White House as the forty-seventh president. Following the Electoral College electors’ meeting on December 17, 2024, the results solidified expectations, leading to a settled election outcome, unlike the contested aftermath of 2020. With the focus now shifting to the upcoming administration, understanding the specifics of the 2024 vote is crucial. This article delves into the details of the election, answering the key question: how many votes did Donald Trump actually receive in 2024? We will explore both the Electoral College and popular vote numbers, providing a comprehensive overview of the election results and placing them in historical context.
Electoral College Victory for Trump
The Electoral College vote confirmed projections, with Donald Trump securing 312 electoral votes, while Kamala Harris received 226. This outcome stood in contrast to the 2016 election, which saw seven faithless electors. In 2024, all electors voted as pledged, ensuring a smooth and predictable outcome in this crucial step of the presidential election process. Trump’s 312 electoral votes in 2024 exceeded his 2016 count by eight votes, demonstrating increased support in key states.
Trump’s path to victory involved flipping six states that had previously voted for the Democratic candidate in 2020. These key states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – shifted their support to Trump in 2024, proving decisive in securing his Electoral College win. The consistency in voting patterns across other states, mirroring the 2020 results, highlights the significance of these state flips in determining the overall election outcome.
Trump’s Popular Vote Count in 2024
Beyond the Electoral College, the popular vote provides another critical measure of electoral support. In 2024, Donald Trump garnered 77,284,118 popular votes, representing 49.8 percent of all votes cast for president. This figure marks the second-highest popular vote total in US presidential history, surpassed only by Joe Biden’s record-breaking 81,284,666 votes in 2020.
Trump’s 2024 popular vote performance showcases significant growth compared to his previous campaigns. He secured 3,059,799 more popular votes than in 2020 and a substantial 14,299,293 more than in 2016. This consistent increase across three presidential runs has propelled Trump to the top of the list for cumulative popular votes received by any presidential candidate in US history, overtaking Barack Obama’s previous record. This achievement underscores Trump’s enduring and expanding voter base.
In comparison, Kamala Harris received 74,999,166 popular votes, or 48.3 percent of the total votes cast. While this is a significant number, it represents 6,285,500 fewer votes than Joe Biden received in 2020. However, Harris’s popular vote count still exceeded Trump’s 2020 total by 774,847 votes, indicating a shift in the overall electorate compared to the previous election cycle.
High Voter Turnout in 2024
The 2024 election witnessed remarkable voter participation, with over 155 million Americans casting their ballots. The exact figure stands at 156,302,318 votes, making it the second-highest voter turnout in US history in absolute numbers. This election marks only the second time in history that over 140 million people have participated in a presidential election, highlighting the continued engagement of American voters in the democratic process.
While the 2024 national voter turnout rate of 63.9 percent was slightly below the exceptional 66.6 percent recorded in 2020 (the highest since 1900), it remains high by modern standards. The 2024 turnout rate is comparable to the 1960 election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon (63.8 percent) and surpasses turnout in most presidential elections in the last century. Wisconsin led the nation with an impressive 76.93 percent voter turnout among eligible voters.
Was it a Landslide Victory?
Despite early narratives describing Trump’s victory as a landslide, a closer examination of both the Electoral College and popular vote numbers suggests a more nuanced picture. Trump’s 312 electoral votes, while decisive, are not indicative of a landslide in historical terms. They are only six more than Biden’s 2020 count, and significantly fewer than landslide victories like Barack Obama’s 365 votes in 2012, or historical precedents such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 523 in 1936.
Similarly, in the popular vote, more Americans voted against Trump than for him in 2024. His margin of victory over Harris was a relatively narrow 1.5 percentage points. This margin ranks as the fifth smallest in the 32 presidential elections held since 1900, further challenging the landslide characterization.
The election outcome hinged on a relatively small number of votes in key states. A shift of just 229,726 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from Trump to Harris would have resulted in a Harris victory in the Electoral College. This narrow margin echoes the 2016 election, where a shift of approximately 78,000 votes in the same three states would have changed the outcome.
The 2024 election marks the tenth consecutive presidential election with a single-digit percentage point margin in the popular vote, a record streak indicating increasing political polarization and closely contested elections becoming the norm in American politics.
Continued Popularity of Early and Mail-in Voting
Early and mail-in voting remained a significant factor in the 2024 election. Over 88 million votes, specifically 88,380,679, were cast before election day. Interestingly, in-person early voting accounted for 52 percent of these early votes, while mail-in ballots made up 48 percent, demonstrating a preference for in-person early voting among early voters.
Data from states tracking party affiliation of early and mail-in voters reveals that 41 percent were registered Democrats, 38 percent were registered Republicans, and 21 percent were unaffiliated or from other parties. This breakdown highlights the continued partisan divide in voting preferences, even within early voting methods.
Republican Control of Congress
While Donald Trump secured the presidency, the 2024 election also resulted in Republican control of both the House and Senate. Republicans won 220 House seats compared to 215 for the Democrats, although this majority is slightly smaller than their 2022 midterm gains. In the Senate, Republicans gained four seats, holding 53 seats in the new Congress, giving them control of the chamber for the first time since 2020. However, these majorities are not filibuster-proof in the Senate and are slim in the House, potentially leading to legislative challenges and political maneuvering in the upcoming congressional sessions.
Conclusion: A Close Election Reflecting a Divided Nation
In conclusion, Donald Trump received 77,284,118 popular votes in the 2024 presidential election and secured 312 electoral votes, leading to his victory. While his popular vote count is historically significant, and voter turnout was high, the election was not a landslide. The narrow margins in key states and the close popular vote percentage underscore the deep political divisions within the United States. The 2024 election results reflect a closely contested political landscape, setting the stage for a potentially turbulent and closely watched presidential term. Understanding these vote numbers and their context is essential for analyzing the current political climate and anticipating future political trends in the US.
