Newsweek

2024 Election Win: Gains Among Black, Hispanic Voters Boosted Trump

J.Green26 min ago

Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election after securing increased support among several key demographics that leaned Democrat in previous elections.

Though his voter base remains America's white and working-class population , Trump's gains were particularly notable among Black and Hispanic voters, particularly younger men.

Bolstered support from college-educated younger people provided him with a winning "coalition," defying the expectations of most pollsters .

With more than 50.9 percent of the popular vote so far, these groups tipped battleground states in his favor to reach the necessary 270 Electoral College votes to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris .

In chipping away at the electorate, Trump picked up a small but significant share of these groups––not a mind-blowing amount, but enough for it to matter.

So how are the priorities of the country's demography changing? Here's how five key groups voted, according to the Associated Press.

Young Black Male Vote Up 5 Percent in Swing States

Trump saw modest yet influential gains among Black voters, driven largely by support from younger Black men. In Wisconsin, it more than doubled . Nationally, he roughly doubled his support among Black men under 45 compared to 2020, with about 3 in 10 in this age group voting for him.

The shift contributed to Trump's improved margins in battleground states like North Carolina and Georgia , where his share of the Black vote rose by 5 percentage points over 2020 levels.

Despite the overall majority of Black voters favoring Harris, Trump's appeal on economic issues was able to conjure meaningful support.

Arthur Beauford, a 28-year-old from Marietta, Georgia––one of seven swing states––said he voted for Trump despite his family's Democratic leanings: "I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of Trump," he told Politico. "But I'll definitely take Trump over Harris."

Historic Gains in Hispanic Democratic Counties

Economic anxieties played a decisive role in Trump's success.

A recent poll from Pew Research Center showed that 52 percent expressed confidence in his economic policies. When President Joe Biden was the Democrat's choice four years ago, that figure was 40 percent for Trump.

Overall, Trump captured 45 percent of the Hispanic vote nationally, an increase of 13 percentage points from 2020, surpassing the previous record of 44 percent set by George W. Bush in 2004.

In Florida, Miami-Dade County, traditionally a Democratic stronghold, was swept by a red wave this year, despite resisting the Trump campaign twice before. Hillary Clinton beat him by almost 2-to-1 in 2016.

"It's simple, really. We liked the way things were four years ago," Samuel Negron, a Pennsylvania state trooper and member of the large Puerto Rican community, said in an interview with the BBC.

"Out here, you pay $5 for a dozen eggs. It used to be $1, or even 99 cents," Negron added. "A lot of us have woken up, in my opinion, from Democratic lies that things have been better. We realized things were better then."

White Women Overlooked Abortion Concerns

Harris underperformed with women compared to Biden in 2020 as Trump narrowed his deficit among women in several swing states.

His gains were particularly pronounced among white women, the majority of whom supported him, despite access to abortion ranking consistently among female voter concerns through the campaign. Recent polls showed the issue coming in first for millennial women.

AP VoteCast data indicated that Trump's messages on reducing inflation and boosting economic stability resonated with many working-class and suburban women, who were worried about the rising cost of essentials like housing, groceries and gas.

'Manosphere' Mobilized Additional Male Support

Trump captured 55 percent of the male vote, up from 53 percent in 2020.

Analysts speculate that gains among Gen Z and millennial men come from the president-elect's budding presence in the " manosphere "––a network of online communities and influencers that promote traditional masculinity to great extremes.

He spent three hours on Joe Rogan 's podcast, has developed close ties with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk , and received a detailed video endorsement from influencer titan and professional boxer Jake Paul .

Musk significantly contributed to Trump's campaign, donating more than $100 million through his America PAC, to support voter mobilization efforts in swing states.

While the majority of male voters are white, gains among Black and Hispanic men were particularly noteworthy. The promise of immigration control, lower taxes and higher tariffs are all possible reasons.

The trend was seen across knife-edge battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Georgia , where male support bolstered his margins.

White Working-Class Voter Stronghold

About 4 in 10 white voters backed Harris––about the same as Biden in 2020.

While Harris made modest gains among college-educated white voters, Trump's support held strong, especially among white voters without a college degree.

Rust Belt states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were crucial. When Harris announced her intention to run in August, several polls suggested she'd be able to hold the interest of white voters in those states.

However, Trump was able to reverse his fortunes from 2020 in all three.

"It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working-class people would find that the working class has abandoned them," said independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders , who caucuses with the Democrats.

This includes reporting from The Associated Press.

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