The highest temperature on Tuesday was 70 degrees.  I believe it was all the accumulated tensions in the country, anxiously waiting for the Presidential Election that will change history.

Between Vice-President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump, it’s been a competition to see who would gain the most popular votes.  When President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, Trump’s predicted popular vote number decreased and leveled with the Democratic Party’s new candidate.  Trump’s campaign headquarters is located at Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach club he’s owned since 1985.  Harris’ headquarters is at her 1986 alma mater, Howard University, located in Washington D.C.  Each watch party had optimistic hopes at the beginning of the night.  At Howard, viewers hoped that their candidate would be the first female president of the United States.  Those at Mar-a-Lago hoped their candidate would “Make America Great Again,” Trump’s campaign slogan since his first campaign in 2016 against Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  However, the number of votes that matter are the Electoral College votes.  One candidate needs 270 electoral votes to assume power in the White House.  The outcome of the battleground states, listed below, will heavily determine the outcome of the electoral votes Vice-President Harris and Former President Trump will obtain throughout the night.

The earliest polls closed were at 7:00 PM (these times varied throughout the nation’s time zones) and included states like Georgia and Arizona.  Massachusetts voting closed at 8:00 PM EST (view the other states’ closing poll times here: USA Today).  As soon as votes were being counted, Trump had the lead from the start.  Harris gained three Electoral votes from Vermont, her first state.  Together, Kentucky and Indiana provided Trump with 19 votes, both red states.  As soon as the first three states provided their Electoral votes, Trump’s lead remained.

The Battleground States

The battleground states in this Presidential Election are the swing states.  These states will largely decide who will get the most Electoral College notes, ultimately securing a candidate’s seat in the White House.  The battleground states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.  Pennsylvania is heavily relied on in this race with the weight of 19 Electoral College votes, the most out of any of the states mentioned earlier in this paragraph.  North Carolina was the first swing state to be won.  Former President Trump won the Tar Heel State, obtaining 16 Electoral College, shortly after the GOP took control of the Senate after winning Ohio and West Virginia.  After North Carolina, Wisconsin fell to the Republican candidate.

As of 12:20 AM, twenty minutes into Wednesday, Trump had a steady lead over Harris, 230 to 189, respectively.  After 12:30 AM, NBC reported that Trump earned 16 Electoral College votes from Georgia, increasing his vote count to 246 over Harris’ 189.  Around 12:45 AM at Howard University, co-chair of Harris’ campaign Cedric Richmond stated that Vice-President Harris would not be making a statement until the morning.  Viewers at Howard all turned around to go home, looking glum as the gap between Trump and Harris widened.

Harris’ route to the White House is still possible, but she needs to sweep the remaining “blue wall” states. To secure the presidential spot in the White House, Harris will need electoral votes from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (or, she can win Arizona instead of Wisconsin, but needs the other two).  On the other hand, Trump can win the election with votes from Pennsylvania or Michigan.  At 1:15, the Associated Press stated that Harris won the state of New Hampshire, only increasing her number of electoral votes by four.

On the bright side, reports nationwide have surprised everyone with such a high voter turnout- some states reaching over 70% of eligible voters going out to cast their vote.   States like Nevada and Pennsylvania (and many more) expect to take multiple days to count all their votes.  The election may not be officially called for another few days.  U.S. News reports that over “…80 million voters cast a ballot ahead of Election Day. Election experts say overall turnout is expected to be one of the highest in history.  And there are already signs pointing to record-breaking numbers in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan…”.

Around 1:30 AM, Fox News projected Donald Trump’s victory over Pennsylvania, making him 3 electoral votes away from regaining his seat in the White House.  Harris now has 214 votes.  Shortly after this, Trump became the 47th president-elect, sealing his position in the White House again.  Trump makes history as the first convicted felon to assume the highest position of power in the United States.  Already, Trump has received congratulations from world leaders like President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.  Trump will not officially be declared President of the United States until Monday, January 25, 2025, when he will officially be sworn into the American government once again.  The GOP already has won the Senate and Executive Branch.  As of now, the GOP may win the House as well, which could result in a full Republican sweep across the federal government.

Regarding local issues, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will eliminate the MCAS as a graduation requirement for high school students.  As for the override, it failed to pass in the town.  As stated in last Friday’s article, the Winthrop Public Schools district will need to make $3.5 million in budget cuts.  The outcome of the next fiscal year will be drastically different than what it is this year.