Trump on Track to Win Popular Vote, Surpass His 2016 Victory
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Former President Donald Trump earned a double victory on Nov. 5, as he was projected to win both the Electoral College tally as well as the popular vote.
He won "the most resounding Republican victory in 30 years," pollster Doug Kaplan told The Epoch Times on Nov. 6, calling the win "transformational."
Although many Americans were bracing for a drawn-out process, "it was over on Election Night," and Trump's lead is bigger than anyone predicted, Kaplan said.
Counting was still continuing and final results will be unavailable for some time. But as of 1:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 6, Trump, the Republican nominee, had garnered 71.8 million votes; his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, had scored about 67 million votes, The Associated Press reported.
Thus, Trump was on pace to secure about 51 percent of the votes, 4.9 million more than Harris.
In the Electoral College, his tally sat at 277 and Harris's at 224. Thirty-seven Electoral College votes had yet to be allocated, but Trump was ensured a win by exceeding the 270-vote threshold.
Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, predicted that the president-elect was on track to draw 312 electoral votes.
Miller said that indicates voters entrusted Trump to take quick action based on his past experience as the 45th president from 2017–2021.
"I think a major reason why President Trump won was because he made it clear how he's going to improve the lives of every American—and the fact that he can do it right away," Miller said. "He's done it before."
In 2016, Trump won the presidency with 304 electoral votes, 302 of which were recorded in his favor after two electors refused. But he lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, sparking controversy and calls to abolish the Electoral College, America's unique system for deciding the presidency. When voters cast their ballots for president and vice president, they are actually voting for delegates at the Electoral College which will meet in December. Laws require most electors to vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in their state.
Trump lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College count during his 2020 reelection bid, paving the way for President Joe Biden to take office along with Harris. Trump said he was thrilled to be returning to the U.S. presidency, "the most important job in the world."
Baris said Trump "put together the most diverse coalition most would tell you is not possible. In politics, when you add some groups, you risk losing parts of your coalition that have conflicting interests," Baris said.
"He improved in the most affluent, white rich suburbs" of Pennsylvania while adding to his tallies in "very non-white areas" such as Detroit and Dearborn in Michigan.
Winning the popular vote and the Electoral College is "a hard thing for a Republican to do ... so I think it's a mandate for his policies," Kaplan said, noting that the last time a Republican won the popular vote was in 2004. That year, George W. Bush beat Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). In the prior election cycle of 2000, many people disputed Bush's win over Democrat Al Gore because of concerns over election irregularities and the fact that Gore won the popular vote but failed to clear the Electoral College minimum.
Trump's win was decisive enough that he said, "there's really no one who would be skeptical of it."
Republicans appeared poised to hold onto their control of the House of Representatives while gaining control of the Senate. Thus, "he'll have the room in Congress to get his policies done" for at least the first two years of his administration, Kaplan said.
By voting overwhelmingly in Trump's favor, voters have signaled "they think that Trump will protect the country, and the country is in the best hands when he's in the cockpit," Kaplan said.
During his campaign, Trump cleared unusual hurdles ranging from criminal indictments to a pair of assassination attempts, one of which wounded his right ear as well as killing one person and wounding two others.
A member of his advisory board, Jason Meister, told The Epoch Times that the Trump win is significant for the history of America. "We dodged a bullet, saved America, and with it western civilization," Meister said.
Trump has pledged to end censorship and what he said to be weaponization of government agencies to persecute political foes.
