Last night, President Trump capped off the most iconic presidential campaign in American history. He achieved victories in all the swing states that propelled him in 2016: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. He even added Nevada to his tally, resulting in a 312 – 226 electoral college victory. Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada have yet to be officially called, but all signs point to him being awarded these states once all votes are counted. Unlike 2016, he is on track to win the popular vote, making him the first Republican to do so since President George W. Bush in 2004. His coattails were also long enough to deliver the Republican Party majorities in both chambers of Congress. Republicans have already secured the Senate, with projections suggesting a solid 54-46 advantage over the Democrats once all races are called, and they’re also expected to retain control of the House of Representatives by a small margin. It becomes clear that the MAGA movement now represents a majority of Americans throughout the entire nation when analyzing close margins in several swing states that Trump did not prevail in.
In 2016, the pre-election narrative painted Trump’s path to victory as narrow, requiring him to win nearly every state where he was competitive, while Hillary Clinton was seen as having multiple routes to success. Just eight years later, the roles were reversed. Trump appeared to have multiple paths to victory as election night approached, as he was able to make legitimate plays for Virginia, New Mexico, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. Polls showing Trump within striking distance in these states were validated on election night: he lost Virginia, New Mexico, and Minnesota by 5% each, and New Hampshire by just 3%. Beyond the perceived swing states, his performance in long-standing blue states, ones previously thought to be unwinnable for Republicans, is arguably an even stronger testament to the strength of the movement.
New York, New Jersey, and California are states where Republicans generally don’t even attempt to compete. However, President Trump, recognizing the widespread dissatisfaction with the Biden-Harris administration, strategically campaigned in all three. Last night’s results proved his instincts were right, as they revealed that voters—even in traditionally deep-blue states— support President Trump’s America First, Unity-MAGA movement more now than ever before.
New York has not voted Republican in a general election since 1984. New Jersey and California? Not since 1988. In every general election since 2008, Republican nominees lost New York by margins of 23%-28%, New Jersey by 14%-18%, and California by 23%-30% prior to last night’s results.
Trump significantly lessened these margins, in some cases by more than half.
As it stands, Trump trails by just 15% with 55% of the votes counted in California. In New York, he lost by just 11% with 97% of votes reported. New Jersey marked his greatest achievement of the three, as he trails by just 4.3% – meaning he came closer to flipping New Jersey than any of the three swing states of Virginia, Minnesota, and New Mexico.
Understandably, this election marked the first Republican expansion in the Electoral College since the realignment seen in the 1980s. The Reagan-Bush victories of that decade, which saw Republican wins in New York, New Jersey, and California, emerged from crises so severe that the nation united in voting for change. Jimmy Carter’s presidency was plagued by soaring inflation and a perceived weakness on the world stage. Coupled with Ronald Reagan’s populist appeal—including his slogan, “Let’s Make America Great Again”—this created a perfect storm for Reagan. The failures of the Biden-Harris administration have fueled similar discontent. In addition to inflation and foreign policy challenges, the current administration has presided over a historic, self-inflicted illegal immigration crisis, along with an extreme focus on the relatively new “woke” agenda, which most Americans strongly oppose.
One could argue that President Trump’s resounding victory was to be expected. Not only did he wield an undeniably strong track record in addition to a new bold vision for America’s future but also ran against a candidate associated with statistically, the most unpopular administration in history – who failed to separate herself from its failures in any meaningful way.
Yet, on the other hand, it often felt as though the “ominous they” would never allow last night’s outcome to happen, especially in such a resounding fashion. When Trump first ran in 2015, the media attacks on him were markedly different from those on anyone prior. After his shock victory, their scrutiny intensified when they advanced narratives suggesting he was colluding with a foreign power, aiming to destruct and delegitimize his first term in office.
He was eventually impeached, and during a pandemic, election laws were drastically changed without proper approval to enable mass mail-in voting to force him out of office. They then impeached him for having the audacity to protest the obviously flawed election that resulted from these changes. Shortly after announcing his intention to win back the White House, they indicted him, attempted to remove him from ballots, and intensified claims that he would be a Hitler-esque dictator if reelected. All of these attempts paled in comparison to a would-be assassin’s bullet nearly ending both President Trump’s life and the MAGA movement as a whole in front of a live, nationally televised audience.
Expected or not, President Trump’s victory—along with his strong performance in states where he previously fell short—combined with the past decade of attacks against him, confirms once and for all that the nonstop propaganda machine aimed at dismantling the most remarkable movement in American history has ultimately failed. Perhaps more importantly, it proves that, despite all the talk about how divided we are as a country, America is firmly UNITED.
Unity is not defined by party platforms, but rather by the size of the people who identify with each group. President Trump and the MAGA movement just achieved the most substantial Republican victory in over three decades, decisively won the popular vote, and secured both chambers of Congress. With only one remaining term of eligibility, President Trump now has majorities, and a clear mandate to usher in what he has recently referred to as America’s new “Golden Era.” MAGA is the majority, America is United, and soon, Donald J. Trump will be leading America from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue once again.
Matt Kane graduated from Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. His work has been posted by President Trump and published by Real Clear Politics, The Gateway Pundit, Human Events, American Thinker, RSBN, and AMAC. Follow on X/Twitter: @MattKaneUSA, Truth Social: @MattKane