November 6, Atlanta, GA – Republican Donald Trump has won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes in a dramatic comeback, narrowly defeating Vice President Kamala Harris with 50.9% of the vote to her 48.4%, according to the Associated Press, with 94% of votes counted.
This victory marks a significant reversal for Trump, who lost Georgia to President Biden in 2020 by a razor-thin margin of just under 12,000 votes, or 0.23 percentage points.
The Peach State hadn’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Bill Clinton’s re-election in 1996, making the 2020 loss a historic flip. Trump’s 2024 success restores Georgia to the Republican column.
Trump rallied late in the campaign, holding a high-energy event in Macon on Sunday, urging his supporters to turn out in force. “The day I take the Oath of Office, the migrant invasion ends, and the restoration of our country begins immediately,” he promised the crowd. “We’re gonna close this thing out, and it’s party time,” Trump added, encouraging Georgians to vote.
Georgia saw unprecedented early voting this cycle, which helped set the stage for a tight race. Over 4 million votes were cast during the early voting period, including 3.7 million in-person ballots and over 242,000 absentee ballots. Early voting accounted for 55% of the votes, marking a record turnout.
Notably, nearly 873,000 black voters had already cast their ballots by the close of the early voting period, underscoring a significant demographic shift. The state’s metro Atlanta counties, which include Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, and Gwinnett, contributed the majority of the vote.
Throughout the election season, polls consistently showed a tight race, with Trump often maintaining a narrow lead. A YouGov poll conducted in late October found Trump ahead by 5 points, while other surveys, such as one from Marist College, indicated a close contest, with Trump and Harris either tied or Trump holding a slight advantage.
As of election night, Trump’s victory in Georgia marked a crucial moment in the race, as the state’s 16 electoral votes were critical to both candidates’ paths to the presidency.