Trump lost in Illinois but still overperformed compared to prior campaigns
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Although he lost the Illinois presidential election to Vice Presdient Kamala Harris, President-elect Donald Trump received more votes in the state than he did in either of his previous campaigns.
According to the Associated Press data available on Thursday, Trump carried 45% of the vote in Illinois, compared to 40.55% when he ran against Joe Biden in 2020 and 38.76% when he ran against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Alternatively, with 53.4% of the vote, Harris performed worse in Illinois than either of the two previous candidates, with Biden taking in 57.4% in 2020 and Clinton winning 55.83% in 2016.
While Illinois is currently reporting 96% of ballots cast have been counted, with 2,393,695 votes Trump has already won more in Illinois than he did in 2016 (2,146,015). In 2020, he won 2,466,891 and is on track to surpass that number.
According to a CBS News analysis, Trump also did better in Chicago than in previous years, winning 21.85% in 2024 so far, vs 15.83% in 2020 and 12.41% in 2016.
In state after state, Trump outperformed what he did in the 2020 election while Harris failed to do as well as Biden did in winning the presidency four years ago. Upon taking office again, Trump will work with a Senate that will now be in Republican hands, while control of the House hadn't been determined.
He seized on frustrations over high prices and fears about crime and migrants who illegally entered the country on Biden's watch. He also highlighted wars in the Middle East and Russia's invasion of Ukraine to cast Democrats as presiding over – and encouraging – a world in chaos.
The results cap a historically tumultuous and competitive election season that included two assassination attempts targeting Trump and a shift to a new Democratic nominee just a month before the party's convention. Trump will inherit a range of challenges when he assumes office on Jan. 20, including heightened political polarization and global crises that are testing America's influence abroad.
Trump is the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. He is the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, is the oldest person elected to the office. His vice president, 40-year-old Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will become the highest-ranking member of the millennial generation in the U.S. government.
