2024 United States elections
Updated: Wikipedia source
Elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. In the presidential election, former Republican President Donald Trump, seeking a non-consecutive second term, defeated the incumbent Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Republicans also gained control of the Senate and held narrow control of the House of Representatives, winning a government trifecta for the first time since 2016. This was the third consecutive presidential election in which the incumbent party lost the presidential election (2016, 2020, and 2024). The last time neither the presidency nor a chamber of Congress changed control was in 2012. This was also the first time since 1980 that Republicans flipped control of a chamber of Congress in a presidential year, and that Democrats were voted out after a single four-year presidential term. Republicans capitalized on Joe Biden's age, questions about his cognitive health, and his high unpopularity in the midst of an inflation surge. Biden ran an initial reelection campaign, but it collapsed due to a poor debate performance against Trump, eventually leading to his withdrawal from the race. Meanwhile, Democrats, after an unexpectedly strong performance in the 2022 midterms, faced internal divisions over the Gaza war and Israel. This election cycle was notable for two attempted assassinations on Donald Trump, the first in Pennsylvania, in which he was shot, and the second in Florida. This was the first time a U . president (current or former) had been shot at since 1981, and the first time a U . presidential candidate had been shot on the campaign trail since 1972. Major issues across the elections were the economy, abortion, immigration, democracy, and foreign policy. The presidency returning to the hand of a former president nonconsecutively was a historical event that occurred only once before in the nation's history, with Grover Cleveland 132 years earlier.