We have reached the finish line of a presidential race unlike any we have ever seen.
And it is former President Donald Trump who has come out on top, CNN projects, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris to complete a historic comeback from his loss to Joe Biden four years ago.
“I will fight for you, for your family and your future every single day,” he said early Wednesday morning as he addressed his supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. “I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America.”
Trump is now just the second defeated president in history to win a nonconsecutive term. The Republican surpassed 270 electoral votes with projected wins in the battleground states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
CNN also projects that Republicans will win back control of the Senate, shifting the balance of power in Washington.
Harris was hoping to become the nation’s first-ever female president. She became the Democratic Party’s nominee this summer, not long after Biden’s unprecedented exit from the race. Biden bowed out in July, a few weeks after a disastrous debate performance that had Democratic allies calling for him to step aside and “pass the torch” for the good of the party and the country.
Trump’s victory comes in the same year that he was convicted of a felony and escaped two attempts on his life. In July, eight days before Biden dropped out, Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
As the election draws to a close, we look back at the extraordinary events that have shaped this race.
