The 2024 Election Upset: Kamala Harris’ Historic Loss and Trump’s Return to Power
Kamala Harris’ Historic Defeat Marks a Shift for Democrats as Donald Trump Reclaims the White House.
The unprecedented results of the 2024 election shocked audiences worldwide. Donald Trump reclaimed the presidency, marking his second term in office and becoming the first Republican in decades to win the popular vote.
The Associated Press called the race with Trump winning the Electoral College 312-226. Republicans also gained full control of Congress by securing the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The results highlight a political shift in the United States as the Overton window moves further right. In an era when residents in Republican-controlled states are losing certain rights, the question remains: How did it get to this point?
Democrats and the Popular Vote
President-elect Donald Trump won the popular vote with over 75 million votes, while Harris garnered 72 million—down from the 81 million votes that incumbent President Joe Biden received in 2020.
Trump cleared the “blue wall,” winning swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, earning him the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to claim the presidency.
The president-elect doubled his support among Black and Latino voters. Thirty percent of Black men under 45 voted for Trump, while Harris secured support from 50% of Latino men—a significant drop from Biden’s 60% in 2020.
According to CNN, Trump won Miami-Dade County—home to a large Cuban American population and a growing number of Venezuelan immigrants—by 12 points, becoming the first Republican to carry the county in 36 years.
Trump winning Florida’s Osceola County by 1.5 points flipped a location that President Joe Biden won by 14 points in 2020.
Exit polling revealed a dramatic shift among Latino voters. In 2020, Biden won 65% of the demographic’s vote, compared to Trump’s 32%. In 2024, Harris captured 52% of the Latino vote, with Trump increasing his share to 46%. This shift highlights the changing dynamics of a group that represents 12% of the electorate.
Factors Leading to Harris’s Loss
Kamala Harris’s campaign, centered on the theme of “joy,” initially garnered enthusiasm. However, her stance on Palestine became a significant liability.
Many Democratic voters and supporters of Palestinian liberation called for a ceasefire and an arms embargo against Israel. A survey by the Arab American Institute revealed that 65% of Harris voters and 45% of Trump voters believed the U.S. should cease aid to Israel if it continues to endanger lives in Palestine and Lebanon.
The college protests across the county also had a strong influence, sixty-six percent of 18–29-year-olds said it was “very important” to demand a ceasefire.
Harris inconsistencies regarding Palestine have been noticed, with her gaining attention for silencing protestors such as her telling protestors in Detroit that “if you want Donald Trump to win say that, otherwise I’m speaking,” which caused uproar among supporters of Palestinian liberation.
Reports from CNN further highlighted the inconsistencies when it came to Arab American voters and Jewish voters, in a campaign ad aimed towards Arab American voters she says,
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating, we cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent,” said Harris.
However, the ad aimed at Jewish voters carried a different tone,
“Let me be clear. I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7,” said Harris.
Eighty percent of Democratic voters said it was important for the U.S. government to act, highlighting the importance of Palestine in the 2024 election.
Harris also received controversy during her campaign for working with “War on Terror” era Republicans such as Dick and Liz Chaney to bring in disillusioned Trump voters. From campaigning in Wisconsin, to Liz Chaney appearing on ABC’s The View to advocate for Harris, research and studies since the election revealed another reason why Harris lost this election, with many who remember the Iraq War seeing her campaigning with the Chaney as an outreach to the right.
In a report from the Los Angeles Times, conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg marked his observations,
“The universe of undecided and persuadable voters in the relevant swing states is small. Those who have been swayed by Cheney’s well-known arguments about Trump’s unfitness for office have probably already been swayed. How many voters might yet be persuaded by her formal endorsement of Harris? Dozens? Hundreds? Maybe,” said Goldberg.
Many voters also blamed Harris’ loss for her silence on LGBTQ+ rights, as research from the American Civil Liberties Union reveals that more than 500 bills have been proposed around the country have been proposed to undermine LGBTQ+ rights, with many states such as Florida already passing and enforcing anti-trans and “don’t say gay’’ laws.
Former Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa received controversy after making a transphobic comment in an interview with a local radio station
“You can support transgender rights up and down all the categories where the issue comes up, or you can understand that there’s certain things that we just go too far on, that a big bulk of our population does not support,” he later made an apology on X (formerly Twitter) saying that he failed to “communicate my thoughts with care and clarity” before resigning following the election.
His comments were condemned by Brad Pritchett, the interim chief executive of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas, who expressed his viewpoint in an interview with NBC News.
“This is something that Democrats need to stop and remember what their values are,” said Pritchett,
“We live and run campaigns by the values we hold dear.”
An exit poll from NBC revealed that 86% of LGBTQ voters supported Harris, while 12% supported Donald Trump.
Trump’s Second Presidency: What to Expect
Since his win in the election, President-elect Donald Trump has promised to incorporate his “America First” policies.
Trump’s controversial stance on immigration has been a highlight, with his promises to create “the largest mass deportation program in history.’’ The President-elect has called on the National Guard and local police forces to help with the effort. So far, he has pitched screenings for entrants, amending the constitution to end birth-right citizenship, and reinstating polices such as “Remain in Mexico,” which limits immigrants on health grounds and limiting or banning entrants from majority-Muslim nations.
Trump has not made abortion a priority, becoming the first time in decades that the Republican party has not called for a national ban on abortion. Despite Trump taking credit for the fall of Roe v. Wade and returning abortion rights to the states. Reports from the Associated Press shared that Trump has stated that overturning Roe v. Wade was enough and added that he would veto a national abortion ban if it was proposed which he said following the September debate against Harris.
Trump has called for rolling back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) polices and legal protections for LGBTQ people. Regarding transgender rights, he has promised to end “boys in girls’ sports”, a transphobic belief that he has insisted without evidence, is widespread. He has also promised to roll back the Biden administration policy of extending Title IX protections to transgender students and would have Congress require that only two genders can be recognized at birth.
Trump has made comments on education and climate change, insisting that climate change is a hoax and promised to roll back any Biden-era policy regarding fuel efficiency standards. Regarding education, the Department of Education is targeted to be dismantled in a second Trump presidency, along with using federal funding as a leverage to pressure K-12 schools to abolish tenure, adopt merit pay for teachers, and scrap diversity programs for all levels of education. He has called for pulling federal funding “for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”
In higher education, Trump has proposed taking over the accreditation process for universities. Trump has threatened to collect school’s endowments by “taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments” at schools that refuse to follow his polices, which would lead to many legal battles.
The President-elect’s cabinet nominees have gained controversy along with claims of misconduct. His pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been investigated for an alleged sexual assault that occurred in 2017 and for potential involvement in Christian extremist groups.
Vice-President-elect JD Vance defended Hegseth, saying in a report by the BBC that it was nothing more than a Christian motto. He later accused the Associated Press, who was the first to report on the story, of pushing “disgusting anti-Christian bigotry.
Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz is facing allegations of misconduct while he was a congressman in Florida and was in the mist of an investigation prior to his cabinet nomination.
Lawyer Joe Leppard told media that one of his clients had witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor in Orlando in 2017 and urged lawmakers to release the House Ethics Committee report that is currently being withheld.
42-year-old Gaetz denied the claims on social media saying that “lies were weaponized to try to destroy me.”
Department of Health nominee Robert F Kennedy Jr has faced backlash for his position on vaccines, as the nominee has vowed to come down on “Big Pharma” and the healthcare industry.
The American Public Health Association, has relayed to the BBC that Kennedy’s criticism of immunizations had “already caused great damage to health in the country.”
Trump still is nominating for his administration with other nominees yet to be announced.
The 2024 election results reflect a significant transformation in American politics, highlighting shifting demographics, evolving voter priorities, and enduring polarization. As the U.S. prepares for a Trump presidency under unified Republican control, questions about the future of democracy, civil rights, and international relations remain.