Early Wednesday morning, Donald Trump was officially declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s win marks the culmination of a stunning political comeback and makes him just the second man ever, and the first since Grover Cleveland, to win two non-consecutive terms in the White House.
While many votes have not yet been tallied, and control of the House of Representatives remains up for grabs, the 2024 contest is already considered to be a significant victory for Republicans.
While this presidential election was forecasted to be one of the closest contests in history, it was also, somewhat paradoxically, more likely than any other recent election to result in an electoral college landslide.
The vote tallies in the seven battleground states—PA, MI, WI, GA, NC, AZ, and NV—were expected to be decided by razor thin margins. According to election experts, however, there was a 60% chance that one candidate would receive more than 300 electoral votes. This was the case for Donald Trump who, though we are still awaiting official results from three states, appears to be headed for a sweep of all seven battleground states and a decisive electoral college victory.
If trends hold, Trump may also be able to claim a victory in the popular vote, an accomplishment that alluded him during his last two presidential runs. As of Wednesday morning, Trump improved upon his 2020 margin in 2,367 counties, while only decreasing his margins in 240 counties. Rural counties remained Republican, and Trump made significant gains in both urban and suburban counties, winning a historic percentage of the Black and Hispanic vote for a Republican candidate.
Republicans will control the Senate after flipping OH, MT, and WV, defeating two of the last Senate Democrats in consistently conservative states, Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester. Multiple Senate races, including the contests in WI, MI, PA, and NV, are still too close to call. Control of both the White House and the upper chamber will give Republicans significant power in shaping the legislative agenda.
In Washington State, longtime incumbent Senator Maria Cantwell defeated challenger Raul Garcia handily but, along with Senator Patty Murphy, will lose her committee chairmanship. Senator Cantwell will now become Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who was elected to a third term after fending off Democratic challenger Colin Allred, will become the Committee Chair.
Senator Patty Murphy is slated to once again become Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, with Senator Susan Collins of Maine set to take over as Chair.
While the state is certainly still well-positioned in the chamber, Washington will no longer hold two of the most powerful chairmanships in the Senate. Nor will the state be able to claim the Senate pro tempore, a role that, while largely ceremonial, stands third in the line of succession to the President and had been held by Patty Murray since 2023. Nonetheless, Senator Maria Cantwell will represent Washington state until at least 2030, and Senator Patty Murray will similarly hold her office until at least 2028.
Ten other members of the Washington congressional delegation faced re-election to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, and while votes in most districts are still being tallied, the picture is beginning to come into focus.
Representatives DelBene, Larsen, Strickland, Smith, and Jayapal all won re-election as expected. Representative Kim Schrier of Washington’s 8th district appears headed for re-election as well, though the race has yet to be officially called.
In Washington’s 5th and 6th congressional districts, two newcomers were elected to the delegation following the retirement of Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and Derek Kilmer. In Eastern Washington, Republican Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner defeated former diplomat Carmela Conroy in the race to succeed McMorris-Rodgers. On the Olympic Peninsula, voters sent former State Senator Emily Randall to the House to replace Kilmer.
The two key races in the state, taking place in the 3rd and 4th districts, remain too close to call. Incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is looking to once again defeat Republican Joe Kent in Southwestern Washington. As of late Tuesday night, Gluesenkamp Perez was leading Kent by 11,798 votes with an estimated 70% of votes recorded. This race will remain closely monitored in the coming days as both parties vie for control of the House.
In Central Washington, incumbent Republican Dan Newhouse is hoping to fend off a challenge from Trump-endorsed Republican Jerrod Sessler. With only half of the votes in, Newhouse holds a slim 3,829 vote lead. While not significant for control of the House chamber, this race nonetheless remains ideologically significant, as Newhouse is one of just two Republicans who voted to impeach Trump remaining in office. If Newhouse loses this race, Washington will have no members on the House Appropriations Committee in the 119th Congress. In the 117th Congress, Washington had three members on the House Appropriations Committee.
The race in Washington’s 3rd district will grow increasingly more important as both parties continue to fight for control of the House of Representatives, with Republicans hoping to secure the rare trifecta of governmental control and Democrats hoping to secure a check against the incoming administration.