Claire McCaskill got emotional on MSNBC, tearing up while watching Kamala Harris’s concession speech. Reflecting on Harris’s career—from district attorney to the Democratic nominee for president—McCaskill’s pride was palpable. To her, Harris’s journey represented a battle against the odds, especially as a woman in roles traditionally dominated by men. “It’s not easy, guys,” McCaskill said, voice quivering, as she described Harris’s climb through the trenches of California politics, a journey McCaskill seemed to believe was nothing short of heroic.
But for much of the country watching, this reaction may have felt, well, a little over-the-top. McCaskill emphasized Harris’s “political skill,” praising her “loyalty” to Biden as if Harris’s VP role had been one of monumental restraint and sacrifice. Yet, her time as vice president wasn’t exactly marked by big-ticket accomplishments. There were press conferences, photo ops, and talking points galore, but on the major issues—border security, inflation, and crime—Harris’s influence often felt, at best, muted. And now, despite McCaskill’s insistence on Harris’s “inspiration,” voters clearly weren’t convinced. The election results speak for themselves.
Harris conceded from Howard University, her alma mater, delivering a speech that was heavy on gratitude, resolve, and a dose of defiance. She acknowledged her disappointment, promising not to “concede the fight” that fueled her campaign. “My heart is full,” she said, pledging that the “light of America’s promise” would continue to burn. She urged her supporters to accept the election results, an interesting twist given that some of her more passionate backers had openly questioned the fairness of elections in recent years.
She did strike a dignified note in pledging a “peaceful transfer of power” to President-elect Donald Trump, vowing that she and her team would work to ensure a smooth transition. But for many Americans, this whole scene felt like a Hollywood epilogue—partly genuine, partly performative, and entirely at odds with the reality that millions of voters across the country had sent a clear message.
Claire McCaskill is LITERALLY sobbing on MSNBC right now. pic.twitter.com/phV08yhuf7
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024
Meanwhile, McCaskill’s teary-eyed tribute to Harris as an inspiration to women felt like it was aimed at rallying the base rather than reflecting the current political reality. Harris may have made history as the first female vice president, but history alone wasn’t enough to secure her the Oval Office. Despite attempts to paint her as a tireless champion for the average American, Harris’s approval ratings and her election defeat suggest voters were looking for something else—maybe a record of results over rhetoric.
As the dust settles on Kamala Harris’s decisive defeat to Donald Trump, it’s clear that her campaign wasn’t just unsuccessful—it was a historic train wreck. Across the board, Harris underperformed in areas Democrats had long taken for granted, with Trump pulling off upsets in blue strongholds, boosting his numbers among key demographics, and even chipping away at Harris’s support in the deep-blue states and cities that usually anchor any Democratic victory.
First off, Harris lost ground in places that hadn’t seen a Republican win in a century. Trump clinched Fall River, Massachusetts, a post-industrial city that hasn’t voted GOP since Calvin Coolidge in 1924. And in Starr County, Texas—the most Hispanic county in the country—Trump won by 16 points, the first Republican victory there since 1892. In Pennsylvania’s Bucks County, a Democratic bastion since 1988, Trump won yet again. Meanwhile, Anson County, North Carolina, a county that’s 40% Black, swung to Trump for the first time since Reconstruction. These weren’t just one-off anomalies; they were symptoms of a larger shift among voters that Harris’s campaign simply couldn’t stop.
Even among voters of color, who’ve been core to the Democratic base, Harris failed to inspire the support she needed. Exit polls show her winning Black men by only 78%, slightly under Biden’s 79% in 2020, with Black men in Wisconsin giving Trump double the support he received last time. Latino voters also shifted toward Trump in record numbers; Harris’s support among Latino men plummeted by 10 points compared to Biden’s performance, as did her support from Latina women. Trump carried Starr County, Texas, the most Hispanic county in America, by 16 points—a seismic shift that likely left Democrats shell-shocked.
Harris’s campaign stumbled in Jewish communities as well, especially in New York, where Jewish voters swung right amid concerns about rising anti-Semitism on liberal college campuses. Trump increased his share of New York’s Jewish vote from 30% in 2020 to 45%, with Harris managing only 55%, down sharply from Biden’s 69%.
The issues didn’t stop there. Harris underperformed across nearly all demographics, with drops in support from college-educated voters of color, younger voters, and Catholic voters—who moved back to Trump after Biden’s narrow win in 2020. Even deep blue states and reliably Democratic cities saw cracks. Harris managed to win New Jersey by just five points and Illinois by eight, stark drops from Biden’s 16- and 17-point wins in those states. Harris narrowly kept New York, but Trump closed the gap significantly, reducing the Democratic margin from Biden’s 23 points in 2020 to just 11.6. New York City itself saw a double-digit swing toward Trump in boroughs like Queens and the Bronx, both of which Democrats have comfortably dominated for decades.
Complete Map of Counties in the 2024 Presidential Election.
Oklahoma and West Virginia the only states that understood the assignment pic.twitter.com/REWnKPv6tE
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) November 7, 2024
Perhaps most shocking was Harris’s failure to outperform Biden’s numbers in any of the 50 states and in all but 58 of over 3,000 counties. Her campaign attempted to energize suburban women and college-educated white voters, but any gains there were more than offset by erosion among working-class, minority, and even traditionally liberal voters. The shifts in major cities like Miami, Chicago, Dallas, and New York demonstrate just how much the Democrats’ urban fortress has started to crack.
In short, Harris’s loss was no ordinary defeat—it was a full-scale red wave, a resounding rejection of the Democratic strategy and platform. Trump’s sweeping victory suggests the political map is shifting in a big way, and for Democrats, the results are more than a one-time loss. They’re a signal that voters across demographics are rethinking where they put their trust—and right now, it isn’t with the left.
