Election night winners and losers: 2024 edition

In the wake of former President Trump’s historic win projected by the Fox News Decision Desk, several winners and losers of the 2024 election have become clear.

Here are those who came out on top on Election Day and those who didn’t quite meet expectations.

MITCH MCCONNELL SINGS TRUMP CAMPAIGN PRAISES: ‘SHARPER OPERATION THIS TIME’

Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election

Former President Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Winners

Trump

Trump defied all expectations, even some of the more conservative-leaning estimates of the 2024 election. By notable margins, Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in several key battleground states, being projected by the Fox News Decision Desk to win the election by amassing the necessary 270 electoral votes before a number of other top swing states had been called.

Republicans 

Trump’s top of the ticket projected victory was followed by significant victories for Republicans across the board. Senate Republicans were projected by the Fox News Decision Desk to retake the majority in the Senate in 2025, racking up wins in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, which were previously blue. There are still multiple outstanding Senate races in swing states, giving the party hope for an even larger majority. 

FOX NEWS DECISION DESK PROJECTS GOP TAKES BACK SENATE MAJORITY IN DEVASTATING BLOW TO DEMS

Tim Sheehy, Steve Daines

Montana Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, left, and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., listen as former President Trump speaks at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, on Aug. 9. (Michael Ciaglo)

Losers

Chuck Schumer 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is one of the biggest losers in this particular election, as voters decisively removed his party from the majority in the upper chamber. He will instead lead the minority in the new Congress. Democrats suffered projected losses in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, effectively killing any chance they had of keeping the majority. They also failed to flip any of their Republican targets, such as Texas or Florida. There are still several Senate races in swing states yet to be called that could increase the GOP’s majority over them.

FOX NEWS PROJECTS TRUMP BEATS HARRIS IN WISCONSIN, FLIPPING ‘BLUE WALL’ STATE BACK TO RED

Schumer talks to media

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., answers questions from reporters outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 28, 2023. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Pollsters

Political polls failed to accurately predict the projected decisive victory Trump saw in the 2024 election. The RealClearPolitics polling averages underestimated the former president, putting him behind Harris in swing states that he was projected to win and showing Trump leading by a smaller margin than he ultimately did in other battlegrounds. A respected Iowa pollster’s results predicted the state would be led by Harris, and ended up being off by double digits as Trump took Iowa.

FOX NEWS DECISION DESK PROJECTS REPUBLICAN DEB FISCHER HOLDS SENATE SEAT DESPITE INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE

Trump and Harris in Pennsylvania split image

The Washington Post did not endorse former President Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Democrats

As a whole, the Democratic Party was dealt a devastating blow by voters across the country. Not only was their presidential nominee categorically rejected by the American people, but the implications of that loss further dragged down candidates across the board, per the Fox News Decision Desk’s projections. Incumbent senators in some swing states are in battles for their political lives that could take days to resolve. This comes as the party has already lost two blue-held seats in Ohio and Montana. Republicans in the House are also feeling bullish that they could complete the GOP trifecta in Washington, D.C.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

×