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In 2016, the Republican received three million fewer votes than his opponent Hillary Clinton. This time, he is ahead of Kamala Harris by more than 5 million votes. We have to go back to George Bush in 2004 to find a Republican elected with the popular vote.
This is a total victory for Donald Trump. This Wednesday, November 6, the Republican candidate became the 47th President of the United States, passing the fateful threshold of 270 electors. Unlike in 2016, he also won the popular vote quite easily, almost certainly. While more than 90% of the ballots were counted, Donald Trump collected 71 million votes, compared to 66 million for his opponent Kamala Harris. At the beginning of November, however, he was not confident on the subject, believing that it would be «difficile» for Republicans to win this vote, due to the strength of Democrats in some large states like New York, Illinois and California.
This is the first time that Donald Trump has won the popular vote, with 51% of the vote against 47.5% for Kamala Harris. In 2016, he had 62.9 million voters compared to 65.8 million for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. The electoral system allows for these kinds of counterintuitive results, which elect the candidate with the fewest votes despite the power of certain states. This year, for example, the Democrats garnered nearly 10 million votes in California and New York alone.
2016 protest
This phenomenon also caused Donald Trump to challenge the results in 2016. At the time, a petition signed by four million people asked the college of electors to choose not Donald Trump but Hillary Clinton, taking into account its lead for the popular vote. The American Constitution does not set any voting obligation for electors, and some states provide for a simple fine in the event of a change of vote. Ultimately, only two major Republican electors failed to vote for secondary candidates. On the other hand, three major Democratic voters had decided not to vote for Clinton.
In 2020, the popular vote was clear: Joe Biden won 306 electors and 81.2 million votes, compared to 232 electors and 74.2 million votes. Despite this gap, Donald Trump could have overturned the election by returning only 32,507 votes in four key states.
We have to go back to the second term of George W. Bush, in 2004, to find a Republican candidate who won the election by also winning the popular vote.
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