As the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election comes to a close, the republican candidate Donald Trump has claimed victory over his democratic opponent Kamala Harris. With a final tally of 312 electoral votes to 226, the Associated Press called the presidential race in the early hours of November 6.
Leading up to the election, candidates campaigned across the nation, garnering support for their presidential bid. Key swing states were among the most visited, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Ultimately, these swing states proved to be the deciding factor, as all of them were won by Donald Trump.
“Leading up to the election, I was not expecting Trump to win, as I thought he did not make himself very likable with his campaigning and what he said. Despite that, I don’t think Harris did enough to take advantage of that,” sophomore Mia Parker said.
Key points for Trump’s campaign involved sealing the border, ending inflation, and increasing manufacturing in the United States. Meanwhile, key points for Harris’s campaign were cutting taxes for middle class families, protecting and strengthening social security and medicare, and lowering energy costs. While both candidates make it clear that cutting inflation and taxes is a primary concern for their campaign, they differ mostly in their means of achieving these goals.
Through imposing tariffs on foreign imports, Trump hopes to protect American factory jobs from foreign competition and deliver a multitude of other benefits. He hopes this will also convert the U.S. back into a manufacturer, rather than an importer. On the other hand, Harris argues against tariffs on foreign imports as she claims it will only drive up prices for Americans. Her economic plan includes proposals such as a ban on grocery price gouging and a $25,000 subsidy for first-time homebuyers.
“I think Trump’s economic plan makes more sense to me, as the reason everything costs so much is because the U.S. doesn’t manufacture anything anymore, meaning other countries can jack up prices,” sophomore Erick del Valle said.
Prior to the election, Coral Gables Senior High’s PACE club held a mock election in which students could select their preferred candidate as well as vote on state issues, such as Florida’s Amendment 3 and 4. Interestingly, while Donald Trump won the popular vote in the general U.S. election, Kamala Harris was the more popular candidate among student votes who participated in the PACE election. With Harris winning 47.7% of votes in the election, she was more successful with students, winning 50% of the votes of the PACE election, more than any other candidate. Throughout history, only four presidents have won the election while not winning the popular vote, most recently in 2016 with Donald Trump.
“I feel that the democratic candidate is more appealing to the younger audience usually, with them being more progressive. However, the republicans usually win a majority of the older vote, which makes up for it,” junior Alex Zabowski said.
Through holding a mock election, PACE promotes voter turnout and prepares students for what it is like to fulfill their civic duty and participate in elections. Only 65% of eligible voters participated in the 2024 election, displaying how many people stayed home and did not show up to their local election center. By introducing the future generation of voters to elections, students practice their civic duties and are more compelled to vote when they are eligible.
“As a PACE board member, I value that we can do this mock election as it really presents an opportunity for students to give their opinion on the presidential election, and its also pretty interesting to see the results,” sophomore Carolina Sesin said.
