donald Trump wins second term as president After victories in key battleground states on Wednesday, NBC News projects left Democrats wondering what went wrong.

The historic victory avenged his loss in the 2020 election, which Trump and many of his supporters baselessly insist was stolen from him.

“I think we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States,” Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said at the campaign’s victory party in West Palm Beach, Florida, early Wednesday.

Trump and Vance spoke before most news outlets declared him the winner, but at that point the night was clearly over. going in his direction. Trump thanked his supporters for the “extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th and 45th president.”

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Democrats were stunned after the battleground state flipped to Republicans. One veteran Democratic strategist said of the darkness over the party: “Have you ever been to a funeral? “This would be Mardi Gras compared to this.”

The loss leaves the Democratic Party without a clear leader moving forward and searching for answers as to how Trump could become the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years.

“How is it possible for us to lose against this guy? This is just malpractice,” said one Democratic fundraiser.

Vice President Kamala Harris chose not to address supporters in Washington, D.C., on election night after Trump won Georgia and North Carolina, the first two battleground states in the race for the White House.

Cedric Richmond, co-chairman of Harris’ campaign, said: Crowd at Howard University He said he would not speak publicly until late Wednesday.

“We still have votes to count. We still have states that haven’t been called,” Richmond said shortly before 1 a.m. “You’ll hear from him tomorrow.”

on wednesday, Harris calls Trump to concede He congratulated him, a senior aide told NBC News.

The decision to remain silent accompanied a drastic shift in mood for campaign aides, supporters and Democratic officials; because vote totals in the battleground states showed that the path to victory was getting narrower.

At Harris’ headquarters on the Howard campus, thousands of people stared at screens in near silence, looking stone-faced. No one waved the American flags distributed earlier in the evening. The atmosphere went from joyful and celebratory to anxious and anxious.

A few dozen people in the crowd, obviously tired of watching the spins, began chanting: “Music! Music!” Soon the giant screen broadcasting cable news was muted and the DJ began playing rap music. Some Harris employees were milling around with blank looks on their faces.

In a worrying development for Democrats, the share of voters who identify with their party has reached its lowest level this century. Accordingly NBC News Exit Poll32 percent of voters identified as Democrats; four years ago this rate was 37 percent. The exit poll also revealed the highest level of voters identifying as independent or “Something Else” this century (34%). The share of voters who identify as Republicans moved less this year, rising to 34%.

Supporters of the two candidates were divided on the main issues facing the country on Election Day; these differences partly reflected their focus. NBC News exit polling also showed significant demographic shifts in the two parties’ coalitions.

Among the most obvious changes: Latin men preferred Trump After supporting 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden 59% to 36%, a 23-point lead, 54% to 44%, a 10-point lead.

In a smaller but still big swing in its own right, Harris had a 25-point lead among Latina women; He was 14 points behind Biden’s 39-point lead over Trump in 2020.

At the same time, Trump has experienced attrition among white suburban women, with 51% of them this year up from 56% four years ago, according to exit polls. Harris also gained support from older voters, with her share of those over 65 rising from 50% to 49%. This reversed Trump’s 5-point lead among seniors in 2020. Moreover, older voters made up 28% of the electorate; This rate was above the 22% they made in 2020.

While most Harris voters rated democracy as the most important issue, most Trump voters said the economy was the most important issue to them. In total, 35 percent of voters placed democracy at the top of their list, while 31 percent cited the economy and 14 percent cited abortion.

While 56 percent of Harris voters put democracy first, 21 percent named abortion among their top priorities, and 13 percent chose the economy. While 51 percent of Trump voters saw the economy as the biggest problem, 20 percent cited immigration and 12 percent cited democracy.

Harris vowed to restore abortion rights that were curtailed by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Trump said abortion decisions are currently in the hands of the states where they reside, but he is in favor of bans that exempt cases of rape, incest and danger to the woman’s life.

Overall, 51% of voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases in 2020. But now 66% say this. At the same time, the percentage of voters who believe abortion should be illegal in all cases fell from 17 percent in 2020 to 6 percent this year.

Both candidates and their campaigns expressed confidence in their closing days that they were on track to win.

“The momentum is on our side,” Harris said at her final rally in Philadelphia on Monday night.

“I think we’re going to have a huge victory today,” Trump said while voting in West Palm Beach on Tuesday afternoon.

Despite the candidates’ sense of accomplishment, 72% of voters in NBC News exit polls said they were angry or dissatisfied with the state of the country, while only 26% reported being satisfied or enthusiastic about it.

There were signs of a demographic shift in the electorate in early exit polls. While Trump’s popularity has declined among white voters, it has increased among Black and Latino voters. In 2020, 57% of white voters, 38% of Latino voters and 10% of Black voters viewed Trump favorably. This year, only 49% of white voters said they viewed Trump favorably, while among Latino and Black voters, that rate rose to 42% and 14%, respectively.