A disaffected electorate wanted former President Donald Trump to return to the White House, a blatant rejection of Vice President Kamala Harris and her nearly four years with President Joe Biden.
The Republican's victory came from a public so put off by America's trajectory that they welcomed his brash and disruptive approach. About 3 in 10 voters said they wanted total upheaval in how the country is run, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Even if they weren't looking for something that dramatic, more than half of voters overall said they wanted to see substantial change.
Both nationwide and in key battleground states, the Republican won over voters who were alarmed about the economy and prioritized more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws. Those issues largely overshadowed many voters' focus on the future of democracy and abortion protections - key priorities for Harris' voters, but not enough to turn the election in her favor.
Trump's victory, however, wasn't a total mandate. Even as Trump prevailed in the electoral college, there were concerns about how he could wield his power. Most voters said they were very or somewhat concerned that electing Trump would bring the U.S. closer to being an authoritarian country, where a single leader has unchecked power. Still, more than 1 in 10 of those voters backed him.
Voters gave Trump the edge on their top concern the economy
