US presidential election: Reasons Republicans triumphed and Democrats lost

Republican candidate Donald Trump has been elected the next President of the US, after leading his party to historic results. He has garnered 51% of the popular vote, compared to Democrats’ 47.5%, and is projected to grab more than 300 votes in the Electoral College.

This is the first time that the Republican Party has received the popular vote since 2004. During that time, the incumbent George Bush got 50.7% of the national vote, and the opposition Democratic challenger John Kerry 48.3%.

There are several reasons behind Trump becoming the 47th US President and Kamala Harris losing. One of the most important ones of them is economy. The Telegraph recently reported that incumbents don’t grab victory if voters are miserable.

Did things seem better during Trump presidency?

The four years under Joe Biden did make several people in the US miserable as inflation ran rampant and unemployment also stayed at alarming levels. Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee did not change the fundamental dynamic of the race.

Not that Biden could have prevented the COVID-19 pandemic or stopped the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but he still had to face citizens’ blame. During the Trump presidency, the stock market soared, unemployment fell significantly and inflation remained manageable.

Democrats have long believed that they represent the most marginalised people in the country. Minorities have traditionally supported the party. But this time, Donald Trump managed to lure a lot of backing from the US’s myriad minorities.