NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Tuesday night turned into the Grand Slam of politics — Republicans winning the presidency and the U.S. Senate while possibly retaining control of the House of Representatives and having the ability to possibly nominate two younger justices to replace any potential retirees on the Supreme Court.
That’s according to Norfolk State University political and legal analyst Dr. Eric Claville.
It was a decisive, and impressive win for former, and now President-elect, Donald Trump, now 78, who will be the oldest president to be inaugurated when the swearing-in takes place in January.
Meanwhile, it was a devastating loss for Democrats.
Exit polls really told the crystal-clear picture on why Democrats lost.
“I think if Trump wins the election, he does it because of messaging focusing on the economy, focusing on immigration, and packaging that message to fit his narrative,” Claville said Monday.
Tuesday, Claville said that “if you take a look at the exit polls, the economy, immigration, and also tailoring it to the voters, Trump was able to galvanize his base, energize them and also recruit a diverse group of new voters — voters that I believe the Republican Party now can see a pathway to more victories, if they continue to cultivate this group of voters.”
The most shocking trend in the presidential election: the Gender Gap, Claville said.
“Women not breaking for Harris overwhelming,” Claville said, “secondly how young men, young voters, broke for Trump, along with the over-performance of rural voters.”
Trump also won over young White men, and he hit homeruns with college students suddenly interested in politics, while the issue of abortion fell flat.
“This issue, if you look at polling this issue [of personal choice] is number three after the top two — the economy and immigration, he said. “Those were the two big winning issues.”
Claville said Trump’s messaging appealed to men more than Vice President Harris’ message to women.
“Well, if you take a look at the exit polls, it does show that young men across racial demographics and first-time voters, young men, along with Latino men, fell squarely in favor of now President-elect Trump,” Claville said.
Messaging was also key, with Claville saying Trump’s words soaked in more to voters and moved more voters.
“I think Trump wins this election,” Claville told 10 On Your Side Monday. “If he does, it is because of messaging. … Donald Trump had what is called a populist message that went to voters that were forgotten about by the Democratic Party, rural voters and … voters that had never voted before.”
And it was a message Claville thinks was punctuated with fear.
“I also believe that the messaging on the populist message, the economy, immigration, and also fearmongering and misinformation and disinformation about certain immigrants taking jobs away, worked and he won.”
On Monday, 10 On Your Side reported on the gender gap. That 34% difference between men for Trump and women for Harris was historic, as the gap has never that wide.
It was a huge factor in the race for the White House, and it determined who won and who lost.
The most shocking trend in the presidential election was the gender gap, Claville said.
“Three surprises last night — first, women were not breaking for Harris overwhelmingly, second, young men, young voters, broke for Trump, and third, the over-performance of rural voters.”
Claville said the former president’s messaging appealed to men more than Harris’ message appealed to women.
“Well if you take a look at the exit polls, it does show that young men across racial demographics and first-time voters, young men, along with Latino men, fell squarely in favor of now President-elect Trump.”
And then there’s the glass ceiling for women running for president. It happened in 2016 with Hillary Rodham Clinton and now it’s happened with Harris. The glass ceiling is an officially acknowledged social barrier that prevents women from achieving promotion, usually in management positions and the term applies to minorities too.
“I believe that the gender issue becomes the last glass ceiling to be broken,” Claville said before the vote came in Tuesday, “and I believe it could be broken on tomorrow night.”
On Wednesday, we found out that it was not meant to be. For the voters, it was Trump that was meant to be.
Claville, asked whether this country ready for a female president, said that, “as of 2024, no. That is one of the reasons why she lost, and sexism.”
That gender gap shows Harris’ underperformance with women, and was true in 2016,
“Where Harris lost this race was on primarily one demographic that did not come out in support overwhelmingly,” Claville said, “and that is White women in suburbs and also in the rural areas.”