he 2024 presidential election cycle came to a close in the early morning hours on Wednesday, capping off a wild campaign cycle with President-elect Donald Trump is projected to win the presidency and go back to the White House on Jan. 20.
Following speculation that the election results could drag out days, Fox News Decision Desk is projecting a Trump victory after notching key wins in a handful of battleground states.
Fox News Digital compiled the biggest election surprises on Tuesday evening into Wednesday, including Harris calling it a night without addressing supporters, and Florida Republicans celebrating the failure of an abortion amendment.
Trump became the projected winner of the 2024 election cycle early Wednesday morning, after securing key battleground states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
He vowed to lead the “golden age of America” in his victory speech in Florida.
“Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you. And 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. That’s what we have to have. This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,” Trump said.
The president-elect called his campaign the “greatest political movement of all time” while vowing to “fix everything about our country.”
“There’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond. And now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal,” he said.
“We’re going to help our country here. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country and we’ve made history for a reason tonight. And the reason is going to be just that. We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,” he added to cheers from the crowd.
‘Get some sleep’: Harris skips addressing watch party
Supporters react to early election results at Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ election night rally during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, at Howard University, in Washington, U.S., November 5, 2024. (REUTERS/Daniel Cole)
Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign called it an early night on Tuesday. The Harris-Walz campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon encouraged supporters to go home and “get some sleep” ahead of 11 p.m. on Tuesday, which was followed by Harris skipping an address to her supporters.
HARRIS WILL NOT SPEAK FROM HOWARD UNIVERSITY ON ELECTION NIGHT AS PLANNED
“Those of you who were around in 2020 know this well: It takes time for all the votes to be counted – and all the votes will be counted,” O’Malley Dillon wrote in a dismal note to Democrats Tuesday evening. “That’s how our system works. What we do know is this race is not going to come into focus until the early morning hours. We’ll continue to keep you all updated as we get more information. This is what we’ve been built for, so let’s finish up what we have in front of us tonight, get some sleep, and get ready to close out strong tomorrow.”
Harris held the watch party at her alma mater, Howard University, where supporters flocked to the campus before results began ticking towards a Trump victory. The campaign soon reported that Harris would not speak to supporters or the nation the night of the election, and would instead deliver remarks on Wednesday.
Harris supporter on election night
Attendees look on at the event held by U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during Election Night, at Howard University, in Washington, U.S., November 5, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
The campaign’s co-chair, Cedric Richmond, instead delivered brief remarks.
“We still have votes to count, we still have states that have not been called yet We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken. So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight. But you will hear from her tomorrow,” Richmond said, ahead of Trump’s eventual victory.
President Biden notably did not join the Harris watch party at Howard University on Tuesday, instead staying at the White House and congratulating down-ballot Democrats who came out of their races victorious. Biden kicked off the 2024 campaign cycle running for re-election, but dropped out of the race in July as concerns mounted over his mental acuity and age.