Change in votes compared with 2020

2.5 million

more votes

for Trump

7.1 million

fewer votes for

Harris than Biden

Key to Trump’s Win: Heavy Losses for Harris Across the Map

By Ashley Wu, Lazaro Gamio, Robert Gebeloff, Elena Shao and Michael C. Bender

Nov. 19, 2024

It may seem like a clear story: Donald Trump won the election by winning the most votes. He improved on his totals, adding about 2.5 million more votes than four years ago. But just as consequential to the outcome were Kamala Harris’s losses: She earned about 7 million fewer votes compared with Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s performance in 2020.

Ms. Harris failed to find new voters in three of the seven swing states and in 80 percent of counties across the country, a New York Times analysis shows. In the places where she matched or exceeded Mr. Biden’s vote totals, she failed to match Mr. Trump’s gains.

Where each candidate got more votes or fewer votes in 2024, compared with 2020