2016
A popular vote split with decisive state flips
Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in one of the most shocking upsets in American political history, winning the Electoral College while losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. Trump flipped the 'Blue Wall' of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — states Democrats had won for decades — by narrow margins on a wave of white working-class resentment. FBI Director Comey's late October letter about Clinton's emails, and Russian social media interference, were widely seen as influential. Seven faithless electors defected, the most since 1872.
Immigration; trade deals; 'Make America Great Again'; Clinton email controversy; globalization backlash
Trump lost popular vote by 2.9 million yet won EC; 7 faithless electors — most since 1872
States · 51 reporting
Embed
Drop this map on your site · coming soon
Free iframe with attribution. White-label option in the works.
Get notified →Classroom
All 300 packets, free
60 cycles · K-2 through AP · open download.
Browse packets →Poster
Wall-worthy print · coming soon
Every-election grid and single-state series in the works.
Get notified →Read further
Curated picksWhy We're Polarized
Ezra Klein
How modern American politics got this way.
Buy on Amazon →The Bitter End
John Sides et al.
How Trump and the 2020 election reshaped the parties.
Buy on Amazon →Confidence Man
Maggie Haberman
Trump in his own habitat.
Buy on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, The American Vote earns from qualifying purchases. Links are tagged for tracking. Recommendations are editorial.
Free, ad-light, no paywall
Built by one person. Tips fund the next 60 elections of editorial.