The electoral college results for the 2024 Presidential Election, where President-Elect Trump swept all 7 swing states. // Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press
Donald Trump was declared president-elect in the early hours of Wednesday, Nov. 6. The extremely close presidential race was expected to come down to key battleground states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, and a result was not expected for a number of days. Trump accrued 312 electoral votes by Monday, Nov. 11, winning all seven of the swing states. Not only did Trump win the race through the electoral college, but he also won the popular vote with nearly 75 million ballots cast in favor of the former president. In addition to Trump’s win, Republicans have also taken control of the Senate and are likely to control the House of Representatives, but there are still multiple races still being monitored. Exit polls show that Hispanic voters largely swayed Republican, at a 14% increase from the 2020 election.
The key focuses from this second Trump Administration will be tax cuts and a crackdown on immigration. Americans can expect to see tax cuts disproportionately benefiting the rich, as Trump aims to reduce their tax rate from 21% to 15%. He also plans to reverse many of the policies included in President Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Trump has also vowed to continue his push to “build the wall” and called for a mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants that he claims would occur on day one of his presidency.
Kamala Harris would have been the first female president, and the second person of color to be elected president. She conceded the race on Wednesday, Nov. 6, saying, “On the campaign, I would often say when we fight, we win. But here’s the thing, sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is don’t ever give up.”
Harris advocated for a peaceful transfer of power and said she would work with the Biden Administration to ensure this. This can be compared to Trump, who has still not conceded to the results of the 2020 presidential election, leading to the riots of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump will be inaugurated in Jan. 2025, after the votes are certified in the states and in Congress. He still faces sentencing for his 34 felony counts, currently set for Tuesday, Nov. 26. It is likely that this date will be further postponed to not interfere with any presidential duties.
“Every democrat in this country knew this was going to be a close, emotional and historical race. Hofstra Democrats are immensely disappointed by the election results of the 2024 presidential election. However, democrats still took major wins across the country in other areas of the government which should be acknowledged,” said one of Hofstra’s political organizations, the Hofstra Democrats.
They cited historic wins in New York state for Lauren Gillen, who flipped Nassau County blue, and Kirsten Gillibrand, who will remain in her position as senator. Hofstra Democrats also pointed to nationwide victories for the democratic party, stating that, “Sarah McBride of Delaware has become the first openly transgender member of the house.” The organization also cited major wins for candidates Lisa Rochester, Angela Alsobrooks and Andy Kim.
“The Democratic fight is not over. We’ll remain strong and continue to make changes where we can across the country,” they said. The full statement, provided by club President Leah Wrazin, can be viewed on their Instagram, @hofstradems.
“I’m pretty excited with how the results turned out,” said Anthony Falleo, president of Hofstra College Republicans, Hofstra’s politically conservative club. “The fact that he won the popular vote and the electoral vote shows that people are really behind him. Given the amount of support he’s had in his comeback, [the result] has been a really welcome surprise.”
Falleo hopes that the next four years are a continuation of “Trump’s foreign policy of no more wars.” He believes the election was emotional for both parties, “I’d like to see both parties work towards unifying our country, working towards a renewed belief in the American dream, supporting American businesses and workers, getting back to the basics and helping build America up.”
