President-elect Trump has already sealed a comfortable majority in the Electoral College. But he is also on course to do something he didn’t do in his first successful campaign for the White House: win the popular vote. The latest count, as of Thursday morning, suggests Trump will win more votes nationally in the presidential election than his defeated rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, making him the first Republican to prevail in the popular vote in 20 years.
Though votes were still being counted in some states, Trump had received more than 72.6 million votes, against around 68 million for Harris, a gap of around 4.6 million votes.
The last Republican presidential candidate to win more votes than his opponent was former President George W Bush in 2004, when he won reelection against John Kerry. The last Republican before Bush to do so was his father, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, who defeated Michael Dukakis in 1988.
The consensus among pollsters before Election Day was that while Trump and Harris would run neck and neck in the Electoral College votes, Harris would gain more votes overall.
