Where Trump won big and the important counties where Harris struggled to drive turnout

While Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential election, we are still waiting on race calls from a handful of states. Lisa Desjardins has a look at where the former president won big, the counties that Kamala Harris struggled to carry and some of the down-ballot races we’re watching.
Amna Nawaz:
All right, let’s delve more into some of the election results data.
Geoff Bennett:
For a look at where the president-elect won big, where Vice President Harris struggled and some of the downballot races that we’re watching, let’s turn to Lisa Desjardins at the PBS News super screen.
Hey, Lisa.
So bring us up to speed on the race for the presidency. What is left to count?
Lisa Desjardins:
All right, where are we after all of that?
First of all, Donald Trump has won the entirety of the blue wall. What’s left? Well, he has 295 electoral votes right now. That includes a call today. Alaska, he picked up the three electoral votes there, as expected.
So let’s talk about what is still out there. Arizona, let’s imagine that that goes red. It’s leaning that way. We’re waiting for some votes there. Nevada, also Trump ahead there, also waiting for votes. But if he picks up those two states, then Trump, his top margin here, his top electoral vote count could be 312.
Should he get that amount, that will be the largest total he has ever had when running for president, and it would be the largest since Barack Obama was on the presidential ballot.
Amna Nawaz:
So, Lisa, those blue wall states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, those were a core part of the Harris strategy. What happened there that flipped those to former President Trump?
Lisa Desjardins:
A lot of folks want to understand, especially the Keystone State, with its 19 electoral votes.
Let’s look at what President Trump was able to do here in terms of his own history in the state. He won the state with 51 percent. Look at this. That is clearly his best total. He outperformed himself even in 2016, the number of votes he got also consistently going up, Kamala Harris fewer votes than Joe Biden received in 2020.
Let’s talk about where this happened and where we see especially problems for Harris. Look at this, Bucks County, one of these suburban counties around Philadelphia. This flipped. Trump turned it from a Biden county into one of his. This is suburban, highly educated white voters.
But look at the other corner of the state, another flip for the Trump campaign from Biden. This is more white working class, two areas where Trump was able to galvanize. Look specifically at what happened here in Erie County. Trump was able to gain a point. But look at this. Harris is just between what Clinton did and what Biden did, not enough to win, not by far.
And you can see in Allegheny County, where Harris did win. The problem for her was the turnout there was not as high. Quickly, let’s look at Michigan as well. Wayne County here, a big place for votes for Harris. But look at how she performed there. Again, she here did not do as well as Hillary Clinton in 2016. She was below that total.
Wayne County also important because it is where Dearborn is, a heavy Muslim population there. And the uncommitted national movement sent out a statement saying the vote from them was not about a vote against Trump, but instead a sign that Democrats have ignored them repeatedly.
Washtenaw County, another place, Ann Arbor, where we saw some of that protest vote. And you can also see Kamala Harris underperforming there. Jill Stein. The Green Party candidate, Washington, just 1 percent. Their place, Ann Arbor, where we saw some of that protest vote. And you can also see Kamala Harris underperforming there. Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, Washtenaw, just 1 percent.
So she wasn’t a spoiler here for Harris. It was Harris who underperformed.
Geoff Bennett:
So, Lisa, looking beyond the battlegrounds, do you see something more broadly happening in this race?
Lisa Desjardins:
Yes. There were very important political trends here last night in blue states like New York.
Now, last night, Kamala Harris, 56 percent is what she won in New York. That’s something most people would like to see, but not if you’re a Democrat, not in a state like New York, where, in the past, Hillary Clinton got 60 percent, Joe Biden 61 percent. That’s a drop of five points in a traditionally blue state.
What about California, Kamala Harris’ home state? Let’s take a look at that historically, how she did, 57 percent last night. That is seven points down from Joe Biden and below Hillary Clinton. Reminder, Kamala Harris was a senator from this state.
But what happened here is, we see these blue states becoming less blue, red states becoming more red. And this is one reason that Donald Trump was able to not win just the electoral vote, but also the popular vote.
Amna Nawaz:
Lisa, this wasn’t just about the race for the White House. It’s also about control of Congress. Bring us up to speed.
Lisa Desjardins:
Yes. The Senate right now, 52 Republican seats. We are still waiting for results in a couple of places. Pennsylvania could well go to the Republicans. They could add a seat there. Nevada is virtually a tie at this moment. Arizona looks like it’s leaning to the Dems. We will have to watch it.
But, for sure, Republicans could pick up a seat there. In the House of Representatives, we are still waiting for a number of races. But when I do all my math, here’s where we are. When I see the outstanding races in the House, I see that Democrats basically are poised, if they keep the leads they have now, to pick up six seats.
Remember, they want to switch four to pick up the House. But Republicans are poised to flip seven seats. Yes, that’s not too hard math. That equals Republicans plus one right now, retaining the majority and possibly picking up one more.
Geoff Bennett:
So what paths do Democrats have available to them since the House hasn’t been called yet?
Lisa Desjardins:
This is the question. If we’re going to have a balance of power between two different parties, divided government, Democrats need to pick up the House. It’s a narrow path, but it goes through California, where there are six Republicans who are vulnerable, still races uncalled right now.
The problem for Democrats is all of these Republicans have been winning throughout the day. They do think that provisional ballots, which could include first-time registered voters, same-day registrations, could help them.
Overall, guys, let me just give you a summary where we’re at. We know the White House Republican, Senate Republican, plus three or four they may have gained there. In the House is a big question mark, but at this moment, Republicans feel better about it than Democrats.
Geoff Bennett:
Lisa Desjardins, thanks so much for that update. We appreciate it.
Lisa Desjardins:
You’re welcome.