UNITED STATES, — National Exit Polls for the 2024 election are giving us an insight into how Donald Trump won the election last night.
We have to start with the topic voters consistently said was their number one issue this election cycle: the economy. According to the exit polls, 68% of the electorate felt the economy was not so good or poor. For the 33% who thought the economy was poor, 87% were Republicans.
Also, 46% said their family's financial situation was worse today than four years ago. Eighty-one percent of people who felt this way were also Republicans.
Even though several metrics show the economy is strong right now with consumer spending and the country's GDP continuing to grow, many don't feel that personally, as interest rates sit just below 7% and prices in general are roughly 20% higher now than when President Biden took office.
What about first time voters? Eight percent of voters this election were first-time voters, 56% of which were Republicans. For comparison, in 2020, 14% of the electorate was first-time voters and 64% of them were Democrats.
On the topic of democracy, the exit polls show conflicting findings. Seventy-three percent of the electorate said democracy is threatened. This feeling was felt in both parties, as 51% of Republicans and 48% of Democrats felt this way. This likely implies that supporters of both parties feel our democracy is threatened by the other side.
Trump is the first former president to return to the White House after losing it since Grover Cleveland in 1892.