YORK, Pa. — After hours of waiting for the results, former president Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 Presidential Election, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
President-elect Trump will return to the White House in two months after being defeated by President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Trump is the first president to be elected to two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892.
“I had my doubts at the beginning when the count was a little higher for Harris," said Steve Miller, a Red Lion resident who voted for Trump.
Voters in York spent Wednesday morning responding to Trump's victory after flipping Pennsylvania. Amanda Richards told FOX43 that she voted for a Republican for the first time Tuesday, citing the economy as a large part of her decision.
“I’ve been a Democrat my whole life, and the past four years have completely changed my mind," explained Richards.
Many voters, like Chris Purcell, said they were stunned by the results. Recent polling showed the race being neck-to-neck entering Tuesday's election.
"There were a lot of people who said they were voting for Harris," said Purcell, who helped canvass for the Harris campaign. “I kind of thought that she would pick it up with a lot of the college kids and the Philadelphia area in the urban areas.”
Other Harris voters believe some people abandoned her campaign to protest the Biden administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip.
“I don’t think that the Democrats have handled the conflict very well," said Kristen Dietrick, a Harris voter from Harrisburg. "I think there’s been a lot more third-party votes.”
As Donald Trump prepares for his second term, Pennsylvanians' outlook for the next four years remains mixed.
"I think it's the change that we need desperately," said Richards.
“I hope this is the last time we have to deal with Trump," said Purcell.