Live Updates: Trump emerges victorious in 2024 presidential election
Harris falters in pivotal states as Republicans gain majority control of the Senate
Note from the executive committee: This is a live page and will be continuously updated as new developments concerning the 2024 presidential election are reported. The Tech will also continue to publish statements and perspectives sourced from across the MIT community. All times listed are in EST.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6
6:13 PM: In a statement posted on X, President Joe Biden broke his silence on this year's presidential election, writing in support of Harris in light of her striking loss in her bid for presidency.
An hour earlier, former president Barack Obama issued his own statement on X to congratulate president-elect Trump and vice president-elect Vance on their win, adding that Harris's loss has followed suit from incumbent losses worldwide in the wake of global mass inflation and pandemic-era challenges.
5:50 PM: Four states had marijuana on their state tickets this year. Voters in Nebraska passed a measure that would allow for the use of medical marijuana and the establishment of a regulatory commission for the drug, while voters in three other states (Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota) voted against their respective proposals to legalize recreational marijuana.
4:27 PM: The New York Times reports worldwide shifts in global stock markets in the wake of Trump's presidential win, with American stocks and government bond yields, cryptocurrencies, and the U.S. dollar's value surging in the past day; world indexes have dipped in the same period, as global investors react to Trump's win. In his second presidency, Trump has promised major levels of financial isolationism, proposing major tariffs on imported goods alongside his well-known hard-line stance on immigration and its role in the American workforce. Analysts say that, while market shifts are common in the days following presidential elections, this year's disturbances are looking to be stronger than normal.
4:26 PM: Harris delivers a concession speech at Howard University, her alma mater, after privately calling Trump to concede to his win. Incumbent president Joe Biden also called both candidates earlier in the day.
3:42 PM: Voters in seven states (Maryland, Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, New York, Montana, and Nevada) passed ballot measures to protect abortion rights, out of a total of ten states that had abortion rights on the ticket this year. The measures also lifted the current abortion ban in Missouri and cut down the existing restrictions in Arizona. The measures failed in three states (Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota), where abortion bans will remain in place.
3:30 PM: Dept. of Justice special counsel Jack Smith is to shut down the two active cases he oversees against president-elect Donald Trump, as per a department policy that bars prosecution of sitting presidents. There are currently two cases against Trump: one on charges of conspiracy to obstruct the results of the 2020 presidential election (which is based in Washington), and a second on charges of mishandling classified documents that he had kept in his home in Mar-a-Lago and obstructing efforts to retrieve them.
11:46 AM: National election security officials assured voters across the country that this year's elections remain secure. This comes in the wake of mass fears of major election interference leading up to the elections, concerns that proved unfounded on Election Day as limited attempts to tamper with the elections (including ballot-box burning, the flooding of social media with conspiracy theories from both American and foreign sources, etc.) ultimately did not incite an expected wave of interference en masse.
5:34 AM: At 5:34 AM EST, the Associated Press declared former President Donald Trump the winner of the 2024 Presidential election, following his winning of the state of Wisconsin. Trump took the critical battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia with average margins of victory over Democrat candidate Kamala Harris of nearly two percent. He leads Michigan by 1.6% with 97% of votes counted, accordingly to the Associated Press.
The Republicans also took control of the Senate, with Ohio incumbent Sherrod Brown losing to Bernie Moreno, a Republican. Jim Justice, the governor of West Viriginia, handily won the spot that opened following the retirement of Senator Joe Manchin. In Montana, Democat Senator Jon Tester lost to Tim Sheehy and in Nebraska, incumbent Republican Deb Fischer fended off a challenge from Dan Osborn, an independent.
Senate and House seats continue to be in play as race calls will slowly trickle in throughout the day.
2:41 AM: Minutes after winning Pennsylvania, Trump addressed supporters at his watch party in Palm Beach and claimed victory of the presidency, as well as the popular vote. The race has not yet been called by major news outlets, but he is predicted to secure the win.
2:25 AM: Trump has won Pennsylvania, securing 19 electoral votes and delivering a major blow to Harris's campaign. The state was widely seen as the key to the presidency, and previously leaned Republican but was flipped by President Joe Biden in the 2020 elections. Trump won with 50.5% of the popular vote in the state, clinching support from 3,457,784 voters.
12:22 AM: The Republican Party has taken majority control of the U.S. Senate, flipping the Democratic Party's previous 51-49 control of the upper chamber of Congress. The party was favored to take control even before polling, as Republican challengers pushed against seven Democratic seats in swing and conversative states; the Republican party had only needed to win two states if Harris wins the presidency, or just one if Trump wins it. (The vice president serves as a tie-breaker in the event of a deadlock in the chamber.)
12:00 AM: As of this time, former President Donald J. Trump of the Republican Party leads current Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party 230 to 205 in the electoral college, with the threshold of victory being 270. The Associated Press declared Trump victorious in North Carolina for Trump, and he holds leads in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The Republican Party also picked up key victories in Senate races, and are now poised to take control. Jim Justice of West Virginia was declared the winner in a seat formerly occupied by indepedent Senator Joe Manchin, formerly a Democrat.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5
9:19 PM: State senator Sarah McBride wins Delaware's only House seat, which makes her the first openly transgender individual elected to Congress.
8:10 PM: Within minutes after all ballots across Massachusetts have been cast, the Bay State has brought its 11 Electoral College votes to Vice President Kamala Harris. Even before polling began, Harris was expected to win the state, a Democratic stronghold.
8:00 PM: Polling stations across Massachusetts have all closed.
7:00 AM: Polling stations across Massachusetts have all officially opened for voting
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A primer on the election
As the ballots continue to be counted, The Tech has sought the perspective of graduate students within MIT’s Political science department.
On Nov. 4, in a written statement to The Tech, Joe Loffredo, a graduate student affiliated with the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, said: “Four years ago, the US held an election during a global pandemic, yet miraculously, this country saw record turnout. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, however, levels of voter confidence in the electoral process diverged between Democrats and Republicans. In response to claims of a 'rigged election,' officials and policymakers nationwide have spent the past four years working to increase transparency, refine procedures, and counter misinformation. Tomorrow, their efforts face a critical test.”
On his role as an academic researcher during the election, Loffredo stated that he will be focused on two themes central to election integrity. He said: “First, what sorts of rumors gain steam and how do election officials respond to them? Second, Donald Trump was the first losing presidential candidate to not deliver a concession speech in 2020. There are suggestions that Trump will declare himself the winner, even before the outcome of the election is made clear. How do the media and the American people respond to this? How does such an action shape America’s conversation about the performance of election administration in this election?”
Ultimately, Loffredo called for faith in the electoral process: “We should afford election officials the space necessary to do that critically important work that sustains American democracy.”
In his written statement to The Tech, Preston Johnston, a graduate student studying political economy and climate politics, said “this election could have dramatic implications for the global landscape of climate policy.”
Johnston wrote that “The Biden Administration has pursued a ‘green industrial policy’ approach to decarbonization, which has helped lower expected US emissions and resulted in significant domestic manufacturing investment. The previous Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Paris Agreement and has similarly indicated a desire to overturn key elements of the green industrial policy agenda. However, given that many red states have benefitted from new manufacturing investment and job creation, it may prove politically difficult to roll back the Biden Administration's climate policies.”
With regards to the outcome of the election, Johnston said that “If Harris wins the election, I will be interested in seeing whether more political capital is deployed for additional climate policies, especially on the regulatory side. If Trump wins, I will watch closely whether Congress goes along with his intent to roll back the Biden policies.”