This was a major year for politics. Riding concerns over prices and immigration, Donald Trump will be back in the White House after winning the 2024 presidential election, the first president to win non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.
He survived an assassination attempt, the Secret Service thwarted a second one, and President Biden dropped out of the race late in the campaign.
Here are some numbers that defined this wild year in American politics:
155 million
More than 155 million people cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election. It's second only in U.S. history to the 2020 election. Turnout in 2024 represented 63.9% of eligible voters, the second-highest percentage in the last 100 years, according to the University of Florida Election Lab. The only year that beat it – again – was 2020 when universal mail-in voting was more widely available.
71%
The share of the electorate that white voters made up. This might be the most important number of the election because it represents an increase in the white share of the electorate, which hasn't happened since 1992. White voters have been on a steady decline since the turn of the century, with the increase of Latinos and AAPI voters, so for that to be reversed in this election is eye-popping and a big reason for Trump's win. Much of that extra boost came from white voters without college degrees, who went up 4 points as a share of the electorate and went two-thirds for Trump.
46%
The percentage of Latinos Trump won. It's the highest support any Republican has gotten — ever — with Latinos despite Trump's rhetoric vilifying immigrants. Trump saw a 28-point shift in his favor with Latinos, and it was mostly due to Latino men, with whom Trump gained 41 points.
$1.2 billion
The amount of money spent on political ads in Pennsylvania for all political races, including $620 million for the presidential election alone, according to AdImpact. No single state has ever seen more than $1 billion in ad spending.
49.8%
Trump's popular vote percentage. That's hardly an "unprecedented" and "powerful mandate," as Trump has claimed, but presidents often over-read their election victories — and just how much political capital they have.
38%
President Biden's average approval rating just before Election Day. It's hard for the party in power to do well when their incumbent president's approval is that low. His age, 81, also factored greatly in whether he could win reelection or even stay in the race. At the end of the day, he was unable to do that and his chosen successor, Vice President Harris, lost, too.
7,309
The number of votes that decided control of the House of Representatives in tight districts in Iowa, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Despite Trump winning the White House, and Republicans holding the House and flipping the Senate, the GOP will have only a slim majority that could make governing a challenge for the next administration.
76%
The percentage of people who said their personal financial situation is either worse off or the same as four years ago, according to exit polls. It's difficult for an incumbent party to win when views of the economy are that negative and that personal.
2.1 million
The number of migrant encounters at the southwest border in fiscal year 2024 (from October 2023-September 2024). That was actually lower than 2022 and 2023, but the narrative that the Biden administration had not done enough to stem border crossings — and that it was slow to respond — stuck with many voters.
23 million
The approximate number of women who live in states with restrictive abortion laws, or 1 in 3 women of reproductive age in the country.
1,500
Pardons in one day by Biden, the most ever. Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row. Those acts of clemency broke records, but the controversy came with Biden's pardon of his son Hunter Biden. Many Democrats were outraged at Biden's suggestion that political pressure played a role in the investigations, undermining the integrity of the Justice Department.
17
The number of points that voters who make less than $100,000 a year shifted in Trump's favor. The country is in a political realignment with working-class voters moving even more in Republicans' favor and wealthier and more educated voters moving in Democrats' direction. Four years ago, Biden won voters who make less than $100,000 a year, 56%-43%, but Trump won them 51%-47% in this election. On the flip side, in 2020, Trump won those making $100,000 a year by 12 points four years ago, and Harris won them this time by 4.
88
The number of felony counts Trump faced between four criminal cases brought against him. He was convicted of 34 in New York for, among other things, fraudulent business practices. It stemmed from a 2016 hush-money payment to a porn star to cover up an alleged sexual encounter. Trump's election helped him avoid sentencing. The three other cases didn't go to trial because of successful delay efforts by Trump's lawyers and an ethics scandal in Georgia. After the election, federal prosecutor Jack Smith dropped the two remaining cases — one related to the Jan. 6 siege at the Capitol, the other about classified documents. Going into his second term, Trump will have fewer guard rails in place, as the Supreme Court said a president has presumed immunity for any official acts.
2
The number of attempts on Trump's life. Photos of Trump putting a fist in the air with a bloody ear have become a symbol of this year's campaign.
$277 million
It's the staggering sum that Elon Musk spent to prop up Trump and groups supporting him. The world's richest man is leading the Trump effort to cut government spending, the Musk-named department of government efficiency, or DOGE. Musk, with interests from Tesla to Space X to the messaging platform X, has lots of invested in how the government decides to dole out funds and regulation.
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