On Nov. 5, 2024, millions of Americans sent in their ballots to decide our next president along with the next House representatives. There were also 34 Senate seats decided during the election.
Presidential race results:
Donald Trump won the presidential election with 312 electoral votes, 42 more than the 270 required to win. Kamala Harris received 226 electoral votes. Harris won 48.3 percent of votes overall, while Trump won 50 percent. It was a close race, with the difference in overall votes only being about 2.6 million. Trump won all key battleground states’ electoral votes, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Trump has already begun announcing members of his cabinet. Some major roles are Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, Marco Rubio as the secretary of state, Pam Bondi (after Matt Gaetz withdrew) as attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the secretary of Health and Human Services (all as of Dec. 8, 2024).
On Trump’s campaign website, 15 “big ideas, bold ambitions and daring dreams for America’s future” are explained. Included in the 15 are the goals to rebuild “the greatest economy in history,” secure the southern border, care for veterans, provide better healthcare at lower costs, end censorship and embrace patriotism.
Trump’s administration also published 20 “core promises to make America great again.” These promises include “carrying out the largest deportation operation in American history,” making America “the dominant energy producer in the world” and preventing a third world war.
Donald Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025, as the United States’ forty-seventh president. He will be the second president in history to serve two non-consecutive terms, the first being Grover Cleveland.
House of Representatives and Senate race results:
This November, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Republican party won the majority of the House with a total of 218 seats, while the Democratic party won 212. The House has the exclusive powers to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials and elect the president if there is a tie in electoral votes.
This year, not all states had senate races. Overall, the Republican Party gained the most seats and won the majority. The party gained four seats, putting it at 53, more than the 50 needed for the majority.
The new members of Congress are expected to be sworn in on Jan. 3, 2025, according to the Senate Historical Office.
