(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge has struck down the Biden administration’s program known as “Keeping Families Together,” dealing a major blow to the estimated half a million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens that DHS estimates would have benefited.
The administration announced the program in June, but a coalition of 16 Republican-led states — led by Texas and Stephen Miller’s America First Legal — quickly filed a lawsuit after applications were made available in August.
A federal judge put the program on hold just days after hopeful applicants filed their paperwork.
The program would have provided temporary relief from deportation for undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens through a process known as “parole in place.” It would have allowed them to apply for legal status without having to leave the country.
On Thursday, Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled in favor of the Republican-led effort to dismantle the program, agreeing with Republican states that the administration had exceeded its statutory authority because the Immigration and Nationality Act allows for paroling people “into the United States,” not to those already in the country.
Noncitizen spouses are already eligible for legal status under current laws but often have to apply from their home countries and face up to a 10-year ban from returning to the U.S.
In August, ABC News spoke with a 24-year-old woman who was one of the first people to be approved under the program. She is married to a U.S. citizen and they have a 3-year-old child.
It’s unclear at the moment what will happen to people who have already submitted their paperwork, like Cecilia, and if they’ll be able to get their application fees refunded.
ABC News has reached out to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the White House for a comment.
“District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker did not just dismantle the Keeping Families Together program, he shattered the hopes of hundreds of thousands of American families. The Biden-Harris program would have allowed noncitizen spouses and noncitizen stepchildren of U.S. citizens to stay in the country after they’ve contributed to our communities, helped grow our economy, and built lives with their loved ones” Ashley DeAzevedo, president of American Families United, said in a statement to ABC News.
“We urge the Biden-Harris administration to immediately appeal Judge Barker’s ruling, preventing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 15 other Republican Attorneys General cruel lawsuit from devastating over 550,000 individuals in mixed-status families. Families like ours deserve better than this blatant attempt to stop a legal program, and we will not stop until the courts rectify this injustice,” DeAzevedo said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said “you can’t love your country only when you win” in his first speech since Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to former President Donald Trump in the presidential race.
“You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree,” Biden said in an address to the nation from the White House Rose Garden on Thursday.
Biden said he’s directed his administration to work with Trump’s team for a peaceful transition of power.
“Something I hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, is see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Bring down the temperature,” Biden said.
He also stressed the integrity of the election, calling it honest, fair and transparent.
“The will of the people always prevails,” he said.
Biden praised his vice president for running “an inspiring campaign.”
“She has great character, true character. She gave her whole heart and effort, and she and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they ran,” he said.
Biden also defended some of his actions in office, saying, “We’re going to see over a trillion dollars’ worth of infrastructure work done, changing people’s lives in rural communities and communities that are in real difficulty, because it takes time to get it done.”
“We’re leaving behind the strongest economy in the world,” Biden added.
“I know people are still hurting,” he said, but added, “Together, we’ve changed America for the better.”
“Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable,” Biden said in his closing message to Americans.
“We’re going to be OK, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going,” he added. “And above all, we need to keep the faith.”
Biden said in a statement on Wednesday that adding Harris to his 2020 Democratic ticket was the first and “best decision” he made in that campaign.
“Her story represents the best of America’s story,” Biden said, adding, “I have no doubt she’ll continue writing that story.”
His statement made no mention of Trump, the former Republican president and now president-elect, who will bookend Biden’s sole term in office.
Biden and Harris have both spoken to Trump to offer congratulations to him for winning a second term.
Harris in a speech on Wednesday conceded the race to Trump.
Harris stressed, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
“This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together,” she said.
Trump won the swing states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan. ABC News has not projected winners for the final two swing states, Nevada and Arizona.
Republicans also took control of the Senate. Results for the House of Representatives are not yet clear.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will step into the White House Rose Garden on Thursday to speak to the nation for the first time since his party’s bruising defeat at the polls on Tuesday.
The White House announced that he would give an address at 11 a.m. ET.
His address is scheduled to begin a little more than 24 hours after his twice-former opponent, Donald Trump, was projected to have won the presidency. Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed in July, as he stepped aside as the party’s presumptive nominee.
Biden in a statement on Wednesday said that adding Harris to his 2020 Democratic ticket was the first and “best decision” he made in that campaign. He praised Harris, saying she had “stepped up and led a historic campaign” under extraordinary circumstances.
That statement made no mention of Trump, the former Republican president and now president-elect, who will bookend Biden’s sole term in office.
Biden and Harris have both spoken to Trump to offer congratulations to him for winning a second term. And Biden on Wednesday also spoke with Harris on the phone, the White House said.
Harris in a speech on Wednesday conceded the race to Trump.
“Sometimes the fight takes a while … The important thing is don’t ever give up,” she said, speaking at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C.
Biden in his Wednesday statement praised Harris, saying, “Her story represents the best of America’s story.”
“And as she made clear today, I have no doubt she’ll continue writing that story,” he said, according to the White House.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON, D.C) — Some gun violence prevention groups said Wednesday that they plan to double down in their fight for stronger firearm-control laws in the wake of former President Donald Trump recapturing the White House and promising to roll back President Joe Biden’s efforts to curb the national plague.
During his victorious campaign, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, voiced opposition to most of Biden’s executive orders to combat the scourge that the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions found to be the leading cause of death in the United States for adolescents under the age of 19 for three straight years.
“The election of Donald Trump is deeply troubling for our safety and freedom from gun violence,” Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement Wednesday. “And that’s why we are doubling down on our work and fighting harder than ever.”
Gun violence was a big issue during the campaign. In an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released in August, gun violence was ranked eighth in importance among voters after the economy, inflation, health care, protecting democracy, crime and safety, immigration and the Supreme Court.
In preliminary national exit polls analyzed by ABC News, voters said they trusted Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, 50% to 48%, in handling the issue of crime and safety.
In his campaign, Trump often railed against what he described as a “surge” in migrant crime, including several high-profile homicides allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants. A 2020 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found U.S.-born citizens are over 2 times more likely than migrants to be arrested for violent crimes.
Brown said it won’t be the first pro-gun rights administration that has occupied the White House, adding that Trump’s previous four years in the Oval Office were marked by a “deadly period for Americans.” Among the mass shootings that occurred during Trump’s first term was the 2017 massacre at the Route 91 Harvest Festival music concert in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and more than 850 people wounded; the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff; and the 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that claimed 23 lives and injured nearly two dozen other people.
“So even though we won’t have a friend in the White House, Brady isn’t giving up an inch,” Brown said of her organization named after White House press secretary James “Jim” Brady, who was shot and permanently disabled in the 1981 assassination attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan and later died in 2014 as a result of his wounds.
Brown added, “The movement to prevent gun violence has always been larger than one office, and we’ll continue to work with activists, survivors, community leaders and elected officials in states across the country to fight for progress that makes the whole country safer from gun violence.”
Trump and Vance, who have said they oppose a national ban on assault weapons, were endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
In February, Trump told NRA members at a forum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, “No one will lay a finger on your firearms” during his second term in office.
“During my four years, nothing happened and there was a lot of pressure on me having to do with guns,” Trump said at the time. “We did nothing, we didn’t yield. And once you yield a little bit that’s just the beginning, that’s [when] the avalanche begins.”
In May, Trump spoke at the NRA convention in Dallas and outlined some of the actions he’ll take in his second term.
“In my second term, we will roll back every Biden attack on the Second Amendment — the attacks are fast and furious — starting the minute that Crooked Joe shuffles his way out of the White House,” Trump said in the speech.
Trump also vowed during the speech to fire Steven Dettelbach, the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). House Republicans have also said they want to abolish or drastically cut funding for the ATF.
“At noon on Inauguration Day, we will sack the anti-gun fanatic Steve Dettelbach,” Trump told NRA conventioneers. “Have you ever heard of him? He’s a disaster.”
Gun control advocates said they expect Trump to try to water down the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the first major gun safety law enacted in 30 years that Biden signed in June 2022, about a month after a teenage gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The BSCA enhances background checks for gun buyers under 21, closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to prevent people convicted of domestic abuse from purchasing guns, and allocates $750 million to help states implement “red flag laws” to remove firearms from people deemed to be dangerous to themselves and others.
Advocates also expect Trump to abolish the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention established under the Biden administration and overseen by Harris.
Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action released a statement on social media Wednesday, saying her gun violence prevention group also plans to continue to fight for laws that protect Americans from gun violence.
“If this work has taught me anything, it’s that no matter what, we always can and will secure victories to protect our communities from gun violence. This obstacle is no different. Today, we are crushed by this result,” Ferrell-Zabala said of Trump’s victory. “Tomorrow, we’re going to continue to organize like our lives depend on it — because they do.”
(WASHINGTON) — Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr — the first openly trans lawmaker in the state — has won her bid for reelection to the Montana House of Representatives after she was censured and barred from the House floor for almost two years. Her win allows Zephyr to take to the House floor for debate once more.
Zephyr’s censure stemmed from her pleas on the House floor against a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth.
“If you are denying gender-affirming care and forcing a trans child to go through puberty, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed,” Zephyr said in the April 18, 2023 debate. “If you vote yes on this bill, I hope the next time you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”
She later elaborated on the comments in an April 2023 interview with ABC News, arguing that gender-affirming support and care improves the mental health of trans children, who face higher rates of discrimination and bullying.
“I have lost friends to suicide this year,” Zephyr said. “I’ve had families call me when there have been … suicide attempts by trans youth, including one trans teenager who attempted to take her life watching one of these hearings on legislation targeting the transgender community.”
Republican lawmakers responded to her comments on the House floor by refusing to allow her to speak or comment on the House floor, she said. Some legislators, including House Speaker Matt Regier, argued she had broken House rules of decorum.
Demonstrators in support of Zephyr interrupted House business several days later to protest her silencing, and she showed her support by holding up her mic.
“Let her speak,” protesters chanted.
House Republicans voted to censure her in response, representing just over the two-thirds needed to bar her from the House floor.
“All representatives are free to participate in House debate while following the House rules. The choice to not follow House rules is one that Representative Zephyr has made,” said Regier in a statement to reporters following the censure. “The only person silencing Representative Zephyr is Representative Zephyr.”
Several of her colleagues argued that Zephyr was inciting “violence” and showing “flagrant disregard for the safety and well-being” of those at the House, according to one statement from the Montana Freedom Caucus.
Zephyr argued the real violence is the negative impact gender-affirming care bans may have on transgender youth.
The day after her censure, Zephyr could be found seated in the public area of the state capitol building, voting and participating with her laptop as close to the House floor as she was allowed.
“The people sent me here to do the work, and much of that work is on the House floor,” she told ABC News at the time. “I need to be as close as possible, so I can have the conversations with legislators and make sure that I can, at least in some way, make sure the voice of my constituents can be discussed.”
Zephyr filed a lawsuit against the state, Regier and Sergeant at Arms for the Montana House of Representatives Bradley Murfitt in an attempt to reinstate her legislative privileges and duties. The lawsuit was dismissed.
“The recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation,” Zephyr said in a tweet Monday. “Montana’s State House is the people’s House, not Speaker Regier’s, and I’m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, which represented the state against the lawsuit, denounced the effort as “political activism masquerading as a lawsuit.”
“The ACLU is trying to use the courts to interfere with the legislature as it carries out its constitutional duties on behalf of Montanans,” said Emily Flower, Knudsen’s press secretary. “Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers.”
(LONDON) — World leaders and top officials reacted to the unfolding results of the 2024 presidential election as the contest drew to a conclusion.
With former President Donald Trump significantly ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House and claiming victory, French President Emmanuel Macron offered his congratulations to Trump in post to X.
“Ready to work together as we have done for four years,” Macron said, referring to Trump’s first term. “With your convictions and with mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated both Trump and his wife, Melania. “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”
“This is a huge victory,” Netanyahu added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, newly-appointed Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also all offered their congratulations.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, also congratulated Trump and wished him success in a statement, saying: “We will remain steadfast in our commitment to peace, and we are confident that the United States will support, under your leadership, the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.”
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said during a press conference that his country is “not too worried about Trump being elected” because “there was not much difference between” the two candidates.
“From our point of view, it does not make any difference and the budget that has been considered and the measures that were foreseen for the economic security of the country, the necessary forecasts have been made and there is no reason to worry,” Mohajerani added. “Sanctions have greatly strengthened our internal strength and we have the ability to deal with them.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — a longtime conservative ally of Trump — posted to X early Wednesday celebrating what he called “the biggest comeback in U.S. political history.” Orban congratulated Trump on “his enormous win,” which he described as a “much needed victory for the world.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook of his hope that “Hungarian-American political cooperation will return to its peak form, because we have similar thoughts about peace, illegal immigration and protection of families.”
“And there is a better chance than ever before that there will be peace in Ukraine after almost a thousand days,” Szijjarto added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lauded what he called Trump’s “impressive election victory.” He wrote in a post on X that leaders in Kyiv “look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership. We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States.”
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs,” Zelenskyy added. “This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.”
When asked about the election results on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters he was “not aware of the president’s plans to congratulate Trump.” Peskov added: “Let’s not forget that we are talking about the unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, meanwhile, posted to X with a video of Harris reciting a psalm during the campaign. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning,” Harris said in the video. Zakharova wrote, “Hallelujah, I’ll add on my own.”
In a later post, Zakharova said, “Those who live by love for their country, and not by hatred for others, win.”
The Foreign Ministry issued a standalone statement Wednesday saying the country “will work with the new administration when it ‘settles’ in the White House, firmly defending Russia’s national interests and focusing on achieving all the goals of the special military operation. Our conditions are unchanged and well known in Washington.”
Former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that Trump “has one quality that is useful for us: as a businessman to the core, he mortally dislikes spending money on various hangers-on” and “idiotic allies,” suggesting his election may be a curb on American aid to Ukraine.
“The question is how much will Trump be forced to give for the war,” Medvedev — who is now the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council — wrote. “He is stubborn, but the system is stronger.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko — one of Russia’s closest allies — said during a press conference that Trump is “an ardent capitalist who won the U.S. elections” while “all of Europe,” including Belarus, “is oriented toward socialism.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Trump’s leadership “will again be key to keeping our alliance strong.” He added, “I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, wrote on social media, “I warmly congratulate Donald J. Trump.”
“The EU and the U.S. are more than just allies,” she added. “We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens. So let’s work together on a strong transatlantic agenda that keeps delivering for them.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a statement congratulated Trump on a “historic election victory.” He added: “I look forward to working with you in the years ahead. As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X, “Good work Mr. President.”
“Italy and the United States are ‘sister’ nations, linked by an unshakable alliance, common values and a historic friendship,” she wrote. “It is a strategic bond, which I am sure we will now strengthen even further.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Trump as a “friend” in his congratulatory post to X.
“I hope that Turkey-U.S. relations will strengthen, that regional and global crises and wars, especially the Palestinian issue and the Russia-Ukraine war, will come to an end,” Erdogan said.
Polish President Andrzej Duda posted on X to Trump: “You made it happen!”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic posted a photograph of himself standing with Trump in the Oval Office, writing alongside it: “Together we face the serious challenges ahead. Serbia is committed to cooperation with the USA on stability, prosperity and peace.”
The leaders of both India and Pakistan were quick to offer their best wishes. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote: “As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.”
Across the border in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said he is looking “forward to working closely with the incoming administration to further strengthen and broaden the Pakistan-U.S. partnership.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol also tweeted a congratulatory message. “Under your strong leadership, the future of the [Republic of Korea]-U.S. alliance and America will shine brighter,” he said. “Look forward to working closely with you.”
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te congratulated Trump and also thanked President Joe Biden and Harris “for their firm support for Taiwan during their term in office,” according to a statement from the Taiwanese Presidential Office.
“No matter which political party has been in power, Taiwan-U.S. relations have not only become stronger but also continued to progress and deepen,” the office added. “Building on the existing foundation, we will work hand in hand with the new U.S. administration and Congress to create a new situation in Taiwan-U.S. relations.”
ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Bruno Nota, Morgan Winsor, Habibullah Khan and Joohee Cho contributed to this article.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is projected to win the presidential race by ABC News, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in a frenzied contest to stage an improbable historic comeback.
Trump ended up with at least 279 electoral votes after clinching wins in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin. Harris has won at least 219 votes. The race was marked by literal history, including two assassination attempts and 34 felony convictions against Trump, already having been impeached twice and faulted for mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Maybe even more memorable was President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race after a ruinous June debate in which he struggled at times to form sentences.
Trump’s victory underscores just how deep voters’ frustrations were surrounding inflation and immigration, Republicans’ two top issues this election cycle as polls consistently showed Americans’ unhappiness with how Biden handled them.
His return to the White House also suggests that Democrats were not motivated enough by the prospect of electing the first female president and that its base’s fury over the Supreme Court’s revocation of constitutional abortion protections has waned since 2022.
For Trump personally, the win offers both political vindication and legal protection. Since his win, he and his brand were soundly rejected in 2018, 2020 and 2022. And once in office, he’d be able to undermine criminal cases against him surrounding his handling of classified documents while out of office and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump said in his victory speech.
Trump’s victory is likely to set off transformations in both parties.
His win will likely help cement his “Make America Great Again” brand of politics as the dominant strand of Republicanism for the foreseeable future, with Vice President-elect JD Vance seemingly well positioned to carry on Trump’s mantle after the current administration ends in a little over four years.
Democrats, meanwhile, will likely have to sift through the rubble to understand what voters found so unappetizing about them that they’d choose instead to support a twice-impeached convicted felon who had already been voted out of office once.
The former and future president has not substantively outlined his goals for a second term — at his debate with Harris he boasted of having “concepts of a plan” when it comes to health care — though he has warned that he could go after his political opponents and journalists. He also could use his familiarity with the federal bureaucracy to help install civil servants who are loyal to him.
He will at least have a friendly, GOP-controlled Senate, though the House majority remains up in the air.
Among the chief policy areas where Trump could leave his imprint are on the world stage, where he has forecasted less support for Ukraine; on trade, where he has boasted of tariffs of as high as 100% on some imports, and on immigration, where he supports a mass deportation force and eliminating the Temporary Protected Status program.
He’s also vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and lower costs, though his tariffs would likely raise the price of many goods, economists say, and he promised to eliminate tax on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits for seniors.
Perhaps more than anything, though, Democrats will be on the lookout for any form of retribution from a candidate who repeatedly dubbed his detractors the “enemy from within,” though he never went after Hillary Clinton after leading chants of “lock her up” in 2016.
Trump’s victory this year was far from assured.
Republicans across the spectrum panned Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol to stop certification of the 2020 election, with even allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggesting the party should move on from the former president and his brand. That nascent push was largely abandoned weeks later when then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., ventured down to Mar-a-Lago to make amends and discuss House strategy.
Republicans’ disappointing 2022 election results tore open those divides once again. After an anticipated red wave instead gave way to the loss of a Senate seat and only marginal House gains, GOP leaders wondered if the time had come to elevate other lawmakers as the party’s future.
Buzz mounted around Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a younger Republican and culture warrior who could synthesize Trump’s brawler style into more widespread appeal, with Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis calling him the party “leader.” Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence offered more traditional conservative credentials in a snapback of sorts to a pre-Trump party.
Millions of dollars flooded a crowded 2024 GOP primary field, with DeSantis in particular leaning on a historically well-heeled and involved super PAC to proselytize his fighter credentials.
None of it mattered.
Pence dropped out before the calendar even turned to 2024. DeSantis ended his campaign before the New Hampshire primary after falling far short of expectations in Iowa. And while Haley stuck around for months, even drawing thousands of votes in primaries after she ended her own campaign in March, no candidate ever held a candle to Trump’s share of the primary electorate.
All of the 2024 contenders endorsed Trump except for Pence and former Govs. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Chris Christie of New Jsersy, none of whom made close to a dent in the nominating contest.
Even though he dominated he clinched the nomination as the GOP’s dominant figure and former president, Trump’s campaign was ultimately anything but conventional.
Trump was dogged by a slate of investigations into his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and payments made to the porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. He was able to fend off or delay many of the federal investigations he faced, and while he was convicted in a New York trial of 34 felony counts over the Daniels payments, his sentencing was delayed until after the election.
Compounding on the history of the election were two assassination attempts against Trump, the first of which, in July, saw him grazed in the ear by a bullet. Trump was able to use the threats to juice his fundraising and expound on his victimhood narrative, though they did not lead to any fundamental polling shifts.
But perhaps more than anything, Trump’s campaign was roiled by chaos in the Democratic Party.
Trump appeared to initially struggle to figure out how to attack Harris once she took over as Democrats’ nominee, even continuing to go after Biden.
However, Trump eventually settled on a line of attack that Harris had four years to fix the country’s woes, mocking her argument about what she’d do on Day One, arguing that day one was in 2021.
Still, Trump kept Republicans nervous by mixing in messages of grievance up until the very end of the race, veering off a script on inflation and immigration that operatives believed was more effective in winning over persuadable voters.
In the end, though, Trump’s playbook was just enough to win.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris will not be speaking as election night went into Wednesday morning, according to Harris Campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond who took the stage at a Harris watch party at Howard University.
Photos show partygoers thinning out and Harris supporters crying as results continued to come in.
The mood at Howard University had dampened over the last couple of hours. The night started out with music pumping and crowds dancing.
Later on in the evening, muted crowds watched as the results came in, with many glued to the screen.
The crowd cheered anytime races are called for Harris and booed whenever states were called for Trump.
Former President Donald Trump was reported to be riding over to the convention center with his family and his top campaign leadership team.
(WASHINGTON) — The gender gap is considered a crucial factor in the presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Both candidates tried to turn the gap to their advantage, with Harris making reproductive freedom a centerpiece of her campaign while Trump focused heavily on motivating men to turn out to the polls.
Men and women have long voted differently in presidential races, with the gender gap averaging 19 points in exit polls since 1996. But several pollsters told ABC News they were bracing for a “gender chasm” this year given the contrast of a man and a woman at the top of the ticket as well as the prominence of abortion rights as an issue after the fall of Roe v. Wade.
Preliminary results from exit poll data, which may change as polls are updated throughout election night, provide some insight on vote preferences among men and women.
Nationally, Harris has a 10-point advantage with women — 54% to Trump’s 44% — but her support is off a slim 3 points from President Joe Biden’s support with the group in 2020.
Trump, meanwhile, is leading by an identical 10-point margin among men.
There is also a huge gender gap between young men (who are roughly split between Harris and Trump 49%-47%) and young women who back Harris by 26 points.
ABC News has not projected a winner in these races.
Georgia
In Georgia, preliminary results show Harris with a 7-point advantage with women over Trump: 53% support to Trump’s 46%.
Compared to 2020 exit polls, Harris is running slightly behind Biden with women. Women went for Biden by 9 percentage points. Biden ultimately flipped the state blue for the first time in decades, eking out a narrow victory over Trump there by less than 12,000 votes.
Trump has a 12-point advantage with men in Georgia, preliminary results show: 55% to Harris’ 43%. That is the same gap he had there in the 2020 election against Biden.
Among younger voters, those ages 18 to 29, women are swinging for Harris by 29 points. Trump, meanwhile, only has a 2-point advantage among men in the same age group.
North Carolina
In North Carolina, preliminary results show women going for Harris by 13 points while men go for Trump by 15 points.
That is a much wider gender gap than the state saw in 2020, according to exit polls. Biden won women by 7 points there while Trump won men by 9 points.
Among younger voters, Harris has a 33-point lead with women while Trump has a 23-point lead with men.
Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania — a battleground that is considered to be a possible tipping point state — Harris has a 12-point lead among women: 55% compared to Trump’s 43%.
Trump’s lead with men is slightly higher: he has a 14-point among men: 56% compared to Harris’ 42%.
Again, preliminary exit poll results show a wider gender gap between Harris and Trump than between Biden and Trump. In 2020, women went for Biden by 11 points and men for Trump by 11 points.
Women ages 18 to 29 are swinging for Harris by a 40-point margin, while Trump is leading with men in that age range by 24 points.
Arizona
In Arizona, women are going for Harris by 3 points: 51% to Trump’s 48%.
Trump, meanwhile, boasts a bigger lead among men: 52% support from the group compared to Harris’ 45%.
That’s also a wider gender gap than in 2020, when Biden won women by 3 points and Trump men by 2 points.
Michigan
Harris boasts a 8-point advantage with women in the battleground state, according to preliminary results: 53% compared to Trump’s 45%.
Trump has a 11-point lead among men: 54% compared to Harris’ 43%.
Among younger voters ages 18 to 29, Harris has a 16-point lead with women while Trump has a 20-point lead with men, according to preliminary results.
Wisconsin
Harris is winning with women in Wisconsin by 11 points: 55% compared to Trump’s 44%. She is running slightly behind Biden’s 13-point advantage with women in 2020.
Trump has a 9-point lead with men: 54% compared to Harris’ 45%. Trump in 2020 won men by 10 points in the state.
Among younger voters ages 18 to 29, Harris has a 18-point lead with women while Trump has a 5-point lead with men, according to preliminary results.
Nevada
In Nevada, Harris is winning women 53% to Trump’s 43% — a 10-point gap.
Trump is winning men by a slightly larger margin, according to preliminary results: 55% to 41%.
(WASHINGTON) — The election will not only decide who will occupy the White House for the next four years, but also which party controls both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 seats in the Senate are up for grabs.
Republicans currently control the House while Democrats retain a narrow majority in the Senate.
See how the balance of power is playing out as election results come in:
Significant shifts and what to watch in the Senate race
Jim Justice is projected to win the Senate seat in West Virginia, which flips the state from Democrat to Republican. Incumbent Joe Manchin decided not to run for reelection, putting Justice against Democrat Glenn Elliot and Libertarian Party candidate David Moran.
ABC News also projects that former President Donald Trump will win in West Virginia. As Dan Hopkins, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote for ABC News’ live election coverage, “In most years, a Senate where every state votes for the same party for Senate and president is a Senate where the Democrats fall short of a majority.”
Another Democratic seat was lost in Ohio, where Republican nominee Bernie Moreno is projected to take the Senate position previously held — for three terms — by Sherrod Brown, the Democratic incumbent. The presumed victory makes a large Republican majority in the Senate seem all the more likely.
In Maryland, Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is projected to win against former Gov. Larry Hogan, a moderate Republican. She is expected to replace Sen. Ben Cardin, also a Democrat, who did not run for reelection, putting the state’s Democratic Senate seat at risk in a year where the party had none to lose if they hoped to retain their narrow majority.
Alsobrooks currently serves as the first woman elected to a county executive position in Maryland, and she now seems positioned to become the state’s first Black senator. She would also be making history, as Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester are projected to be the first two Black women to serve on the Senate at the same time.
