Trump’s triumph
In our polarized political climate, President-elect Donald Trump‘s victory with 50% of the popular vote might seem comparatively narrow at first glance.
But if we look back at presidential elections over the last 40 years, Trump won a sweeping victory.
• Trump is the first Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote and 300 electoral votes since Vice President George H.W. Bush in 1988.
• Trump is the first Republican to win 300 electoral votes in two different presidential elections since Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
• Trump is also the first Republican since Reagan to sweep the Blue Wall twice – carrying Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in both 2016 and 2024.
In 1976, when Democrat Jimmy Carter was elected president, much of the South was blue and a good bit of New England was red.
Consider that in 2000 and in 2004 Republican George W. Bush lost all three states in the Blue Wall – Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – but he won both elections. How is that possible? Remember he could count on big Southern states voting red, including North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia.
In fact, Virginia voted Republican in 10 straight presidential elections – from 1968 to 2004. Now it has backed Democrats in the last five.
— Richmond Times Dispatch