Staff Reports
A resurgence of red is on the horizon as former President Donald Trump appears poised to win the popular vote in the upcoming election, and folks, that hasn’t happened for Republicans in two long decades. With Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris by nearly 5 million votes—71 million to her 66 million—the narrative that the GOP can only sneak into power through the Electoral College is on shaky ground. It seems the assumption that the American electorate didn’t really want Trump is about to be put to the test.
Trump’s climb to over 71 million votes sets the stage for him to become the first Republican to actually win a majority of the votes cast in a presidential election since George W. Bush did so in 2004. There’s something deliciously ironic about this. For 20 years, Democrats have hurled insults about the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency, fancying themselves the voice of the “real” America. Yet, here we are, with Trump steamrolling ahead, potentially putting a serious dent in the narrative that portrays him as a political pariah.
We just won the Popular Vote for the first time in 20 years, the Electoral College, the Senate & most likely the House‼️
This is the RED WAVE that cheating denied us in 2020.
F*ck with us now‼️ pic.twitter.com/OFQqRz7lgl
— ᴊᴀᴄᴋ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀ (@AmericazOutlaw) November 6, 2024
For context, since the 2000 election cycle, Republicans have only managed to win the popular vote once—with Bush notching about 62 million votes against John Kerry’s less-than-stellar 59 million. The past 24 years have mostly been a Democratic playbook of “how to collect votes” with Barack Obama winning those popular vote accolades in 2008 with a staggering 69.5 million. Yet the discussion about the Electoral College isn’t going anywhere, with Democrats repeatedly grumbling about how it’s “unfair” that Trump’s victory in 2016 didn’t align with the nationwide votes.
This brings up the embarrassing debacle of the 2016 election, where Hillary Clinton could claim a moral victory in the popular vote but completely whiffed on the Electoral College count. Trump’s 304 to 227 electoral triumph left many Democrats squawking about how the system must be reformed, if not outright abolished. Ironically, the very structure set up by the Founding Fathers—a framework designed to balance the representation of states—is suddenly villainized by Democrats who cannot fathom why their candidates keep tripping up on it.
This time around, even Kamala Harris’s running mate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, tossed in his two cents, demanding the total dismantling of the Electoral College. Interestingly, Harris promptly distanced herself from such comments, perhaps realizing that attacking the Electoral College now looks like an admission of weakness rather than a bold stance. As of Wednesday morning, Trump has successfully captured swing states including North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—states that hold the keys to an electoral victory. The waiting game for Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada to be called keeps everyone on the edge of their seats, proving that even in uncertainty, enthusiasm remains high for Trump’s populist message.
