President Trump’s victory in the last election was supported by a more racially and ethnically diverse group of voters compared to his previous campaigns. This insight comes from a recent analysis by the Pew Research Center.
According to Pew’s analyst, while the voting patterns across most demographic groups in the 2024 presidential election did not show significant differences from those in 2020 and 2016, the support Trump received from certain key demographics was pivotal for his 2024 win.
Trump, who had lost to President Biden in 2020 and did not win the popular vote in 2016, managed to prevail over former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall by over two million votes, securing 312 electoral college votes.
The analysis revealed that while Trump did not achieve a majority among minority groups, he performed better with Hispanic, Black, and Asian voters compared to four years prior, despite Harris being a historic candidate as the first Asian and Black presidential nominee.
In 2020, Biden had a significant advantage with Hispanic voters, winning by 25 percentage points, but this time, Trump’s loss to Harris in that demographic was only by three points.
Many factors contributed to this shift, primarily differences in voter turnout. Only 9% of eligible Hispanic voters participated in 2020, while in 2024, among those who did vote, 60% supported Trump and 37% backed Harris.
There was also a notable increase in Black voters supporting Trump, rising from 8% in 2020 to 15% last fall, though they still leaned Democratic overall.
Pew indicated that this change was largely a result of differing voter turnout, not necessarily a shift in individual preferences.
Asian voter support for Trump also increased, climbing from 30% to 40% compared to four years prior.
Pew analysts noted that Trump’s voter base in 2024 was more racially and ethnically diverse, reflecting the interests of Hispanic, Black, and Asian voters, whereas Harris’s voter base was less diverse compared to Biden’s 2020 and Clinton’s 2016 supporters.
Despite these shifts, significant differences in party coalition composition are expected to persist, they added.
Pew’s findings come from a survey involving 8,942 voters representing different demographics during the election cycle analyzed.
