7 Wild Facts About How America Voted

The dust is settling, and though in some ways the 2024 presidential election was typical, there are several ways in which it wasn't.

• Improving all over: Despite facing numerous legal battles and controversies since leaving the White House, former President Trump improved on his 2020 margin in 92% of more than 1,300 counties where at least 95% of the vote was counted, per Politico. "The median county shifted a bit under 2 points in Trump's favor," the outlet notes.
• Popular vote: In a 20-year first for the GOP, Trump is expected to win the popular vote on top of the Electoral College; George W. Bush last did it in 2004. After losing the popular vote twice before, Decision Desk HQ has him with 71 million votes compared to Kamala Harris' 66 million.

• Latinos: Trump gained with "nearly every demographic group," per CNN, but particularly Latino voters. They moved 26 points toward Trump from 2020, while Latino men moved 33 points in a massive swing, according to ABC News exit poll data. This surge in support "could fundamentally reorient American politics for a generation," per Axios.
• Starr County, Texas: Trump is the first Republican to win the former Democratic stronghold, part of the Rio Grande Valley region, in a presidential race since 1896. And it wasn't close. He led by more than 15 points, per the Texas Tribune.
• Independents in Georgia: President Biden won this group, which makes up 31% of the state electorate, by a 9-point margin in 2020. Trump was leading by 11 points in a CNN exit poll, marking a 20-point swing Jake Tapper described as "wild," per the New York Post.
• Dearborn, Michigan: After drawing 30% of the vote in 2020, Trump won 42% support over Harris' 36% in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, an Arab-American stronghold, per the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Jill Stein won 18% support in an apparent protest vote against the Biden administration's support for Israel amid its war with Hamas.

• Abortion not so key: In 2020, before Roe v. Wade was overturned, 26% of voters thought abortion should be legal in most cases. "Biden won them by 38 points," per CNN. "This year, 33% held that opinion, and Harris won them by just 3 points."

(More Election 2024 stories.)