Former President Donald Trump will serve a second term in the Oval Office after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
The Republican became victorious after claiming Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes early Wednesday morning, putting him at the 270 threshold needed to win. This came after he won Georgia and North Carolina and before his wins in Wisconsin, Nevada and Michigan.
In addition to Arizona, which has yet to be called as of Wednesday afternoon, each of these states was seen as possible to win by both the Democrat and Republican Parties, and that made the states large targets for both campaigns, as a swing toward blue or red could have a heavy impact on the overall results.
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But although these seven states were the focus in this year's presidential election, they're not always the same ones in the spotlight year-to-year. For example, Georgia only recently became a battleground state after being reliably red, and the opposite goes for Florida, which has been put out of swing state conversations after leaning heavily Republican in recent elections.
But how did this year's swing states vote this year compared to the last presidential election in 2020, when Trump lost to President Joe Biden? Here's a look at which states flipped in 2024.
North Carolina
North Carolina was the first swing state Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ projected as a Trump win on Tuesday night, and it's the only swing state that also voted in his favor in 2020.
Trump narrowly won the eastern state and its 15 electoral votes in 2020 with 49.93% of the vote compared to President Biden's 48.59%. In 2024, DDHQ data shows he has 51.13% of the vote compared to Harris' 47.72% with 99% of the votes in.
Georgia
Georgia was the second swing state Scripps News and DDHQ called for Trump, which gave him 16 electoral votes and left only a Pennsylvania win needed for him to reach 270.
This election cycle, Trump holds 50.73% of the vote, with 98% in, while Harris holds 48.48%. In 2020, President Biden narrowly won the southern state with 49.47% compared to Trump's 49.24%, meaning this was the first flip DDHQ called for 2024.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania was seen as the big one Tuesday evening. For Democrats, it was part of the so-called "Blue Wall" of northern swing states that they needed to sway in their direction to get toward 270 electoral votes. And after the two wins in Georgia and North Carolina, the Trump campaign needed its 19 electoral votes to get to that number.
With 96% of the vote in, DDHQ called Trump as Pennsylvania's winner with 50.5% of the tally compared to 48.53% for Harris. This was a flip from 2020, which saw President Biden win the state with 50.01% compared to Trump's 48.84%.
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Wisconsin
Trump got to 270 with the Pennsylvania win, but that didn't mark the end of him tallying up more electoral votes.
In a close call, DDHQ called Trump the Blue Wall state winner with 49.76% of the vote compared to Harris' 48.79%. Wisconsin was a narrow race in 2020 too, but President Biden pulled ahead with 49.45% while Trump had 48.82%, marking this another flip for the Republican Party in 2024.
Nevada
DDHQ has projected Trump as the winner of Nevada. With 93.2% of the vote in as of Wednesday afternoon, he has 51.62% of the vote, and Harris has 46.71%.
In 2020, President Biden had a substantial lead, with 50.06% of the votes compared to Trump's 47.67%. This marks the first time the state has flipped red since the 2004 election.
Michigan
Trump is DDHQ's projected winner of Michigan with a narrow lead of 49.75% over Harris' 48.29%.
In 2016, Trump became the first Republican since former President George H.W. Bush to carry the state, but he lost it in 2020 with 47.84% of the vote while President Biden notched 50.62%. This flips the state back to red.
Arizona
Arizona is the only swing state that DDHQ has not projected a winner yet in the 2024 presidential election. Currently, only 67.2% of the votes are in, and Trump is leading with 51.93% of the vote compared to Harris' 47.19%.
In 2020, the state was a close race, but President Biden reigned victorious with 49.36% of the vote over Trump's 49.06%.
