UNITED STATES—It was a race between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to become the next President of the United States of America. On Tuesday, November 8, Americans hit the polls to cast their vote for president, and in the wee hours news outlets announced that Donald J. Trump won enough electoral votes to become President.
Pushing Trump over the edge was an upset in the state of Pennsylvania, which was leaning towards Clinton’s favor early in the night. Wins in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Wisconsin, pushed Trump over the magic number of 289. Two states were the votes are still too close to call include Michigan and New Hampshire. Trump had a decent lead in the mitten state, while Clinton had a slight lead in NH. President Obama reached out to Trump Wednesday morning to congratulate him on his win, with an invitation to the White House on Thursday to assist with his transition into office.
President Elect Donald Trump took to the podium to speak to Americans after his victory was announced.
“Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business. Complicated. Thank you very much,” said Trump.
“I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us. It’s about us. On our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean she fought very hard. Hillary was worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely. Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It is time.
I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people. I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family. It is a moment comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people –and serve the people it will,” stated Trump.
As polls closed early in several states, both Trump and Clinton went back and forth with projections throughout the night. Trump saw early victories in Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and West Virginia. Clinton won the vote in Vermont, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. The race in states including Ohio, Florida and North Carolina were too close to call at the time polls closed.
Florida was quite contentious as the numbers teetered back and forth between both Clinton and Trump as the night progressed. Trump and Clinton found the scales teetering with more polls closing through the night. Trump picked up wins in Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Louisiana, Montana, Missouri and Arkansas. Clinton picked up her home state of New York, New Mexico and the state of Connecticut.
A big win occurred for Donald Trump winning Ohio which holds a total of 18 electoral votes, and after a contested battle where Trump was leading Virginia early in the night, Clinton managed to pick up a win in that state to earn 13 electoral votes. Just before 11 p.m. EST, Trump led with 167 electoral votes compared to Clinton’s 131 electoral votes.
With polls in Western states closing, Hillary managed to pick-up California and Hawaii, but Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were still in play. Trump picked up win in North Carolina balancing the electoral map to 190 for Hillary Clinton to Trump’s 186 electoral votes.
Clinton tweeted Tuesday night, “This team has so much to be proud of. Whatever happens tonight, thank you for everything.”
As midnight approached, Trump picked up a win in Florida and Georgia, edging him closer to the key number of 270 electoral votes to clinch the presidency. The next few hours the race continued to be too close to call, but Trump’s victory in Wisconsin, Georgia, Alaska, Arizona and Pennsylvania earned him the victory.
“Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I’ve spend my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world. That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I’ve gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It is going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential,” said Trump during his speech.
Many took to social media to respond to the news of Trump’s victory. Mark Cuban tweeted, “We all need to give President-Elect Trump a chance. Support the good. Lobby against what we disagree on. No one is bigger than us all.”
Actress Dana Delaney tweeted, “How do you explain to young girls in tears at Hillary HQ that women voted for Trump and misogyny is the way of the world? I won’t. It’s not.”
Actress Kirstie Alley tweeted, “CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT TRUMP! @realDonaldTrump against all odds ..against the establishment and even against most from the GOP. U did it!”
“I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone. All people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict,” said Trump.
Hillary Clinton delivered her concession speech Wednesday morning to the nation announcing, “I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too. This is painful and it will be for a long time.”
“We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we though, but I still believe in America and I always will…We must accept this result and then look to the future. We owe Donald Trump an open mind and a change to lead,” said Clinton while beside her husband Bill Clinton, daughter Chelsea Clinton and Vice President candidate Tim Kaine and his wife.
