The U.S. Capitol is visible December 21 in Washington, DC.
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Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images
It was an important year for politics. Riding concerns over prices and immigration, Donald Trump will return to 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 foiled a second, and President Biden dropped out of the race late in the campaign.
Here are some numbers that defined this crazy year in American politics:
155 million
More than 155 million people voted in the 2024 presidential election. This is the second in U.S. history after the 2020 election. Turnout in 2024 represented 63.9% of eligible votersthe second highest percentage in the last 100 years, according to the University of Florida Elections Laboratory. The only year that beat it — again — was 2020, when universal mail-in voting was more widely available.
71%
The share of the electorate made up of white voters. This is perhaps the most important number of the election because it represents an increase in the white share of the electorate, something that has not happened since 1992. White voters have been in steady decline since the turn of the century, with an increase in Latino and AAPI voters, so the fact that this is reversed in this election is striking and a major reason for Trump’s victory. Much of this additional momentum came from white voters without college degrees, whose share of the electorate increased by 4 points and voted two-thirds for Trump.
An electronic billboard shows an “Americans for Trump” political ad in Easton, Pennsylvania, on November 1.
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Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images
46%
The percentage of Latinos Trump won. This is the highest support a Republican has ever had among Latinos, despite Trump’s rhetoric vilifying immigrants. Trump saw a 28-point shift in his favor among Latinos, and that was mostly driven by 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 state has ever spent more than $1 billion on advertising.
49.8%
Trump’s popular vote percentage. This is not an “unprecedented” and “powerful” mandate, as Trump claimed, but presidents often overplay their electoral victories – and the political capital they have.
38%
President Biden average approval rating just before election day. It is difficult for the ruling party to succeed when the incumbent president’s approval is so low. His age, 81, also played a significant role in his ability to win re-election or even stay in the race. In the end, he was unable to do so and his chosen successor, Vice President Harris, lost as well.
U.S. President Biden speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 19.
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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
7,309
That’s the number of votes that decided control of the House of Representatives in narrow districts in Iowa, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Although Trump won the White House and Republicans occupy the House and flip the Senate, the Republican Party will have only a slim majority, which could make governance a challenge for the next administration.
76%
According to exit polls, the percentage of people saying their personal financial situation is either worse or the same as it was four years ago. It is difficult for a ruling party to win when views on the economy are so negative and personal.
2.1 million
The number of meetings with migrants on the southwest border in FY 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024). This was actually lower than in 2022 and 2023, but the narrative that the Biden administration had not done enough to stem border crossings – and that it had been slow to respond – held back the attention of many voters.
23 million
THE approximate number of women who live in states with restrictive abortion laws, or 1 in 3 women of childbearing age in the country.
1,500
Pardon in one day by Biden, the most ever seen. Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of 40 men on federal death row. These acts of clemency broke records, but controversy came with Biden pardons his son Hunter Biden. Many Democrats were outraged by Biden’s suggestion that political pressure played a role in the investigations, undermining the integrity of the Justice Department.
Voters fill out their ballots at a New York polling station on Election Day, November 5.
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Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images
17
The number of points earned by voters earning less than $100,000 a year shifted in Trump’s favor. The country is in a political realignment with working-class voters shifting even more toward Republicans and wealthier, more educated voters shifting toward Democrats. Four years ago, Biden won between 56% and 43% of voters earning less than $100,000 a year, but Trump won them between 51% and 47% in 2017. this election. On the other hand, 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
That’s the number of charges Trump has faced between four criminal cases brought against him. He was convicted 34 times in New York for, among other things, fraudulent business practices. It stems from a secret payment in 2016 to a porn star to cover up an alleged sexual relationship. Trump’s election helped him avoid conviction. The other three cases did not go to trial due to successful efforts by Trump’s lawyers and an ethics scandal in Georgia. After the election, federal prosecutor Jack Smith dropped the remaining two cases – one concerned the siege of the Capitol on January 6, the other concerned classified documents. Going into his second term, Trump will have fewer safeguards in place, as the Supreme Court has ruled. presumed immunity for any official act.
President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix on December 22.
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Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
2
The number of attacks against Trump. Photos of Trump raising his fist with a bloody ear have become a symbol of this year’s campaign.
$277 million
This is the enormous sum that Elon Musk spent to support Trump and the groups that support him. The world’s richest man is leading Trump’s effort to cut government spending, the Musk-appointed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk, with interests ranging from Tesla to Space X to messaging platform X, has invested heavily in how the government decides to distribute funds and regulate.