After a grueling election season, Donald J. Trump was declared the 45th President of the United States at almost 3 A.M. on November 9th. Trump ultimately received 279 electoral votes to Secretary Hillary Clinton's 228. While there are still several states that have been "too close to call" and thus have not submitted their electoral votes to a specific candidate, Trump has already received the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Trump took an early lead, winning typical Republican-leaning states such as Indiana, and Texas, among other states in the Midwest and the South. The anxiety began to mount, however, when Clinton began losing swing states that she was originally projected to win. The New York Times highlighted that five states "flipped" in favor of the Republican candidate: Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Combined, these states have eighty-three electoral votes-just over 30 percent of the total electoral votes needed to win. Trump's victory came as a complete shock to millions of Americans. Not a single poll before the election predicted that Trump would beat out Clinton: while FiveThirtyEight believed Clinton had a 70 percent chance of winning, most other poll projections placed Clinton's chances at 85 percent or higher. The question, then, is what exactly happened?
It is important to note, first of all, that this is the first general election that was impacted by the gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act sought to protect racial minorities from discrimination and intimidation while voting. In 2013, the majority-Republican Supreme Court removed several core tenants of the act, leading to a reduction in early voting hours, increased voter intimidation at polling locations, and the loss of 868 polling sites in the South; all of these changes disproportionately impact minority voters.
Trump's voter demographic has also been fairly consistent throughout the election season, but polls underestimated their size and strength. According to CNN's exit polls, Trump's supporters are overwhelmingly white voters forty-five and older-in other words, the Baby Boomer generation. While Millennials now technically outnumber the Baby Boomers, not all Millennials are yet eligible to vote, and their voter turnout rate is consistently lower than their Boomer counterparts. Clinton was overwhelmingly popular with younger voters; one map showed that if only individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 had voted, Clinton would have received 507 electoral votes. It is also worth noting that Clinton actually won the popular vote. This is only the fifth time in American politics that a candidate has received a greater number of individual votes but failed to receive the necessary votes from the electoral college.
In his acceptance speech, Trump stated, "I pledge to every citizen in the land that I will be president to all Americans." Despite his subdued acceptance speech and grand statements about unity, the fear for many Americans is palpable. Republicans won the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, meaning that it would be relatively easy for Trump to get his policies through since Democrats do not have the power to block legislation. After it seemed evident that Trump would win, global markets plunged. Civil rights organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) have began releasing maps highlighting the locations of reinvigorated hate groups and pleading with individuals to support the organizations in their inevitable fight against Trump's unconstitutional policies. It seems unlikely that a man whose entire platform was run on the basis of xenophobia and racism could be the unifying force he claims to be.
Secretary Clinton gave her concession speech this morning. Graciously accepting defeat, Clinton highlighted the importance of a peaceful transfer of power, and urged voters to look towards the future, bridge divides, and hopefully one day come together.
Our campaign was never about one person, or even one election. It was about the country we love and building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted. We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America, and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.
For Americans, the question now is, "Where do we go from here?" The answer, unfortunately, is not so clear.
