BREAKING: Donald Trump wins 2024 presidential election

Former President Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States with 277 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.

Trump acquired 71,098,645 votes by 5:45 a.m. on Nov. 6, while Vice President Kamala Harris had 66,168,70 and 224 electoral votes.

By gaining Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes, Trump won the electoral college. 

Harris called this morning to congratulate Trump on his victory, his campaign wrote in a statement. Shortly after, she addressed a crowd at Howard University conceding the election. 

“Trump acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism and tenacity throughout the campaign,” Communications Director Steven Cheung said. “Both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”

Trump is the first former president to win non-consecutive elections since Grover Cleveland, the first elected president convicted of a felony and the oldest person elected to the office at age 78, according to the AP.

The national win came shortly after Trump secured the Pennsylvania race with 51% of the vote, according to the AP. 

The state race was decided at 2:24 a.m., and Pennsylvania was a key win among important battleground states as the presidential election drew close.

The last South Side poll at the Banana Factory closed its polls at 9:31 p.m. Trump’s Northampton county win came at 2 a.m.

With 3,386,978 votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 3,193,439 votes in the swing state, Trump gained 19 electoral votes.

Trump’s victory is the second in Pennsylvania by a Republican in a presidential race since 1988.

As of 2:43 am, Trump had 267 electoral college votes to Harris’ 214. 270 of 538 are required to win the election. 

After winning in Pennsylvania, Trump had to win in Alaska or any outstanding battleground state — Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona or Nevada — to secure the presidency. 

The AP was hesitant to call the race because of late vote updates from Michigan’s Wayne County and Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County, which presented opportunities for a path to a Democratic win in either state. 

Drew Smith, ‘27, said he voted for Harris because he’s passionate about the economy and gun control. 

“I plan to vote for Harris to uphold democracy, support freedom of choice, not have total tariffs on the country, and so that there could be more unity,” Smith said. 

Maria Jones, a South Side preschool teacher, said the most important issues she considered when voting were reproductive rights and national security. 

“I voted for Donald Trump and the rest of them down the Republican ticket because their values are more closely linked to mine,” Jones said. 

Alex Kozlosky, ‘28, also voted for Trump. He said the country’s current economic status motivated him to vote, and he chose Trump because of his stances on border security and foreign policy. 

“I like that Trump’s not a fake politician…he comes out and says what he believes,” Kozlosky said. 

In opposition, Alyssa Ruiz, ‘26, said she voted for Harris. She said her main reasons for doing so were because she thinks Trump is a racist and intends to take away women’s rights. 

She said she was shocked how other Puerto Ricans voted for Trump after the joke comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27. 

“I’ve heard Hispanic people voting for him, I’ve heard black people voting for him, and it’s like, he doesn’t care about you,” Ruiz said. “They’re like ‘One reason is he’s gonna make a better economy: yeah, for rich white people.’ Last time I checked (they’re) neither of those.”

South Side residents Joel Bergman and Isabel Gutierrez-Bergman said they voted for Harris. 

“I’m Puerto Rican, so for me, it’s very important that my voice is heard and my rights are protected,” Gutierrez-Bergman said.