With former president and now President-elect Donald Trump unable to run again for the White House in 2028, Vice President-elect JD Vance appears to be the heir apparent to the America First movement and the Republican Party’s powerful MAGA base.

It was a point driven home by Donald Trump Jr., the former and future president’s eldest son and powerful ally of the vice president-elect.

‘We are getting four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance!’ Trump Jr. said two weeks ago on the campaign trail in Ohio.

Vance, who was elected to the Senate in Ohio just two years ago, will likely be the clear frontrunner in the next Republican presidential nomination race.

‘The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it,’ longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News Digital. 

Carney, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said that Vance ‘is the guy to beat.’

David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with plenty of presidential campaign experience, told Fox News that Vance is the frontrunner due to ‘the size and the scope of last week’s victory and the implied passing of the torch from Donald Trump.’

‘There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement,’ Kochel said.

Trump, in his victory speech late on Election Night, noted that he faced some criticism in July for naming Vance as his running mate, saying ‘I took a little heat at the beginning.’ However, he emphasized ‘he turned out to be a good choice.’ 

Additionally, with Trump’s support in a party firmly in the president-elect’s grip, the 40-year-old Vance will be extremely hard to knock off. 

However, Kochel noted that ‘nobody will completely defer to JD Vance. There will be a contest. There always is.’

Carney added that ‘there may be other people who challenge him [Vance]…there’s a lot of people who want to be president, but it will be very hard a lane other than the Trump lane.’

He added that a possible rough four years for the Trump/Vance administration would give potential Vance challengers ‘opportunities.’

However, he praised the vice president-elect’s messaging and accessibility on the campaign trail and that ‘he is the guy to beat, regardless of whether it’s a good four years or a rough four years.’

Carney also touted that the Republican Party has a ‘deep bench.’ 

Here’s a look at some of those on the bench that may have national aspirations and ambitions in 2028, or beyond.

The conservative governor of Florida was flying high after a landslide re-election in 2022, but an unsuccessful 2024 presidential primary run and a bruising battle with Trump knocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis down in stature.

However, the term-limited 46-year-old governor, who has two years left in office steering Florida, proved over the past few years his fundraising prowess and retains plenty of supporters across the country.

DeSantis was also able, to a degree, to repair relations with Trump, helped raise money for the GOP ticket during the general election, and earned a prime time speaking slot at July’s convention.

While DeSantis may have his eyes on another White House run, with Sen. Marco Rubio likely leaving the Senate to become America’s top diplomat, there’s a possibility DeSantis could run in a 2026 special Senate election.

The popular conservative governor is one of the few in the GOP who can claim he faced Trump’s wrath and not only survived, but thrived.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term limited, has two years left in office and enjoys strong favorable ratings in a crucial battleground state.

Expect to see the 61-year-old Kemp on the campaign trail across the country for fellow Republicans in 2026, as his national profile expands.

With his 2021 gubernatorial victory – the first by a Republican in Virginia in a dozen years – Gov. Glenn Youngkin instantly became a GOP rising star.

In Virginia, governors are limited to one consecutive four-year term, which means Youngkin has one year left in office. 

The 57-year-old governor, who hails from the Republican Party’s business wing but has been able to thrive in a MAGA-dominated party, likely harbors national ambitions. 

A first step could be a cabinet post in the second Trump administration after his term as governor ends.

Sen. Ted Cruz was the runner-up to Trump in the blockbuster 2016 Republican presidential battle.

The controversial conservative firebrand passed on challenging Trump again in 2024, as he ran for what was thought to be another difficult re-election bid, after narrowly surviving his 2018 re-election.

However, the 53-year-old senator ended up winning a third six-year term in the Senate by nearly nine points.

The Army veteran, who served in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars before becoming a rising star in Republican Party politics, was considered to be on the larger list of potential Trump running mates.

The now-47-year-old Sen. Tom Cotton seriously mulled a 2024 White House run of his own before deciding against it in late 2022, putting his young family ahead of political ambitions. However, he did not rule out a future presidential bid.

Cotton is currently bidding for the GOP conference chair, the number three leadership position in the incoming Senate Republican majority.

The 44-year-old Sen. Josh Hawley, along with Cotton, is another rising conservative star in the Senate. 

Hawley is also a strong defender of Trump’s America First agenda and is thought to have national aspirations.

The former two-term South Carolina governor, who served as U.N. ambassador in Trump’s first term, was the first GOP challenger to jump into the race against the former president in the 2024 nomination race. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley outlasted the rest of the field, becoming the final challenger to Trump before ending her White House bid in March.

While the 52-year-old Haley ended up backing Trump in the general election, her earlier clashes with the now president-elect during the primaries left their mark. Even though she addressed the GOP faithful at the convention, her political future in a party dominated by Trump is uncertain.

The first-term conservative governor of Arkansas is a well known figure in MAGA world, thanks to her tenure as Trump’s longest serving White House press secretary during his first administration.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas governor and former two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, has also grabbed national attention for delivering the GOP’s response to President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address.

The multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur, anti-woke crusader and first-time candidate was one of the biggest surprises during the GOP presidential nomination race.

The now 39-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy, who touted during his campaign that he and Trump were the only two ‘America First candidates’ in the large field of contenders, eventually dropped out of the race and became a major backer and surrogate for the former president.

Others to keep your eyes on include Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who ran for the 2016 nomination and may end up with a top cabinet post in the second Trump administration; Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 nomination but remains very popular; and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who both mulled but decided against presidential runs this past cycle.

Also, not to be ignored – top Trump supporters Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, whom Trump on Monday named to serve as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

Then there is Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s eldest son and MAGA warrior. However, the younger Trump is very close to Vance, which would likely prevent him from making any White House bid in the next cycle.

President-elect Donald Trump said his election victory ‘gives me a very big mandate to do things properly’ in a newly released video by Indonesia’s president. 

Prabowo Subianto could be heard congratulating Trump, adding, ‘Wherever you are, I am willing to fly to, to congratulate you personally sir.’ 

‘We had a great election in the U.S…. Amazing what happened, we had tremendous success. The most successful in over 100 years they say. It’s a great honor and so it gives me a very big mandate to do things properly,’ Trump told him at one point in the conversation. 

Subianto also told Trump, ‘We were all shocked when they tried to assassinate you, but we are very happy that the almighty protected you sir.’ 

‘Yes, I got very lucky. I just happened to be in the right place in the right direction otherwise I wouldn’t be talking to you right now,’ Trump responded. ‘I got quite lucky actually, somebody was protecting me I guess.’ 

Subianto, a former Indonesian military general and defense minister, was sworn in as the country’s eighth president on Oct. 20. 

‘Whenever you are around you let me know and I’d like to also get to your country sometime, it’s incredible, the job that you are doing is incredible,’ Trump told Subianto during the call. ‘You’re a very respected person and I give you credit for that, it’s not easy.’ 

‘Please send the people of Indonesia my regards,’ he added. 

In a statement on X alongside the video, Subianto said, ‘I am looking forward to enhance the collaboration between our two great nations and to more productive discussions in the future.’

One week after Election Day, control of the House of Representatives is still up in the air with votes continuing to be counted in 17 House races.

Republican Donald Trump won the presidency again and the GOP will have the Senate majority. House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, is still waiting to learn whether he will get to keep his job and President-elect Trump will soon find out whether Republicans will have full control of the government to enact his agenda over the next two years (before the 2026 midterm elections).

Here’s where things stand with the uncalled House races: 

Alaska

At-large district

Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola is in a tight race in Alaska’s at-large congressional district, where she is trailing Republican entrepreneur Nick Begich.

As of Tuesday morning, Begich holds a 4-point lead at 49.5% of the vote compared to Peltola’s 45.5%. The vote count sits at 125,222 to 115,089, with roughly 80% of the vote counted.

Arizona

6th Congressional District

The race in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District is tight, with the Republican candidate narrowly ahead. 

Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a first-term lawmaker, is barely leading former Democratic state lawmaker Kirsten Engel in a 49.5% to 48.2% race as of Tuesday morning. The vote count sits at 189,692 to 184,787 with 86% of votes counted.

California

9th Congressional District

Democratic incumbent Josh Harder leads Republican challenger Kevin Lincoln by fewer than 3 points.

The district had about 74% of the vote recorded as of Tuesday, and Harder’s lead expanded to 7,124 votes. 

13th Congressional District

Republican Rep. John Duarte is leading former Democratic state assembly member Adam Gray in California’s 13th Congressional District, but the highly contested race remains uncalled as of Tuesday.

Roughly 62% of the vote has been counted, and Duarte holds a 51.1% to 48.9% lead. The pair is separated by just under 3,000 votes.

21st Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Rep. John Costa leads his Republican challenger, Michael Maher, in a 50.5% to 49.5% race as of Tuesday morning.

So far, 66% of the vote has been counted, and Costa’s lead is just over 1,000 votes.

22nd Congressional District

Republican incumbent Rep. David Valado leads Democratic Challenger Rudy Salas in a 53.6% to 46.6% race as of Tuesday. Valado holds a lead of just under 10,000 votes with 77% of the vote counted.

27th Congressional District

Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Garcia is trailing Democratic challenger George Whitesides by about 2 points as of Tuesday morning.

With 83% of the votes counted, Whitesides’ lead sits at just under 7,000 votes.

Though the race has not been called, Garcia conceded in a statement Monday evening.

‘I spoke with George Whitesides this evening to congratulate him, and I will ensure a smooth handoff of open constituent case work packages to him and his team,’ Garcia said. 

41st Congressional District

Republican incumbent Rep. Ken Calvert holds a 51.3% to 48.7% lead over Democratic challenger Will Rollins. Roughly 75% of the vote has been counted as of Tuesday, and Calvert’s lead sits at roughly 7,500 votes.

45th Congressional District

Incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel leads her Democratic challenger Derek Tran with 50.7% of the vote as of Tuesday. A little more than 83% of the votes have been counted, and Steel’s lead has shrunk to 3,908 votes.

47th Congressional District

The race to succeed outgoing Democratic Rep. Katie Porter in California’s 47th Congressional District is also razor-thin.

Republican Scott Baugh, a former state assembly member, and state Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat, are vying for the open seat, and Min holds a about a 1% lead.

Nearly 82% of the vote has been counted, and Min’s lead sits at just over 3,000 votes.

49th Congressional District

Democratic incumbent Rep. Mike Levin holds a 4-point lead over Republican challenger Matt Gunderson as of Tuesday morning.

With 82% of votes counted, Levin’s lead sits at roughly 14,000 votes.

Colorado

8th Congressional District

Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat, is trailing Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District by less than 1% with 96% of the vote counted.

Iowa

1st Congressional District

Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannet Miller-Meeks holds a less than 1% lead over challenger Christina Bohannan with 99% of the vote counted. Miller-Meeks’ lead sits at just under 1,000 votes.

Maine

2nd Congressional District

Democratic incumbent Jared Golden holds a razor-thin lead over Republican challenger Austin Theriault as of Tuesday.

With 98% of the votes counted, Golden’s lead sits at less than 800 votes.

Ohio

9th Congressional District

Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur leads her Republican challenger, Derek Merrin, by less than 1 point with 99% of the votes counted. Kaptur’s lead sits at just over 1,000 votes as of Tuesday.

Oregon

5th Congressional District

Republican incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is trailing her Democratic challenger, Janelle Bynum by nearly 3 points with 87% of the votes counted Tuesday.

Bynum’s lead sits at just over 10,000 votes.

Washington

4th Congressional District

Republican incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse leads his top opponent, fellow Republican Jerrod Sessler, by about 5 points with 86% of the votes counted.

Newhouse’s lead sits at just over 13,000 votes as of Tuesday morning.

Because this undecided district is a contest between two Republicans, it has already been counted toward the GOP’s total.

Once Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., vacates her seat to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has 10 days to set the date for a special election to replace her in the House. 

The special election must be held within 70 to 80 days afterward, and there are already a number of possible contenders reportedly being considered to claim New York’s 21st Congressional District. 

Stefanik won a sixth term to represent the district which encompasses North County, New York, but President-elect Donald Trump chose her this week to fill the U.N. ambassadorship in his new cabinet. 

Republican names being floated include state Sen. Dan Stec, who represents portions of St. Lawrence County and other eastern regions of the state; state Assemblymen Robert Smullen and Christopher Tague; and Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin, according to WWNY. Possible Democratic candidates include Assemblyman Billy Jones, whose state district falls just east of St. Lawrence County, as well as past unsuccessful challengers to Stefanik such as Matt Castelli and Paula Collins.

Stefanik won 62.27% of the vote last week against Collins, who garnered just 37.73%, according to The Associated Press. 

Stefanik has built up a national profile as an unwavering ally of Trump and as a sharp-tongued Republican voice. First elected to Congress in 2014 at age 30, she eventually shed her early reputation as a moderate Republican and rose to become the highest-ranking woman in the House Republican leadership. Stefanik represents a largely rural northern New York district that includes some of the most sparsely populated parts of the state.

Democrats in New York unseated three first-term Republican incumbents in the U.S. House last Tuesday, as voters in the Empire State were expected to play an outsized role in helping determine control of the House. 

Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump following the 2020 election. 

There will also be a separate contest to replace Stefanik as the House Republican Conference chair. 

Stefanik’s grilling of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests in the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah continues.

Stefanik, who served as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, and the Education and Workforce Committee, released a statement Monday afternoon following her nomination to Trump’s cabinet. 

During a conversation with Trump, Stefanik said she shared ‘how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.’ 

‘President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead – both at home and abroad,’ she said. ‘America continues to be the beacon of the world, but we expect and must demand that our friends and allies be strong partners in the peace we seek. The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries.’  

The congresswoman said she stands ready to advance Trump’s ‘restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations’ and thanked her ‘beloved constituents in New York’s 21st Congressional District for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to work my very hardest to serve and give them a voice at the highest levels of Congress.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Every winning presidential campaign features a lot of GOATS (greatest of all time), while those on the losing side are ridiculed as old goats, grumpy goats, and scapegoats. The macro narrative gets set, with the victors hailed as geniuses who played a clever long game and came together with brilliant tactics and strategies to make it happen, while the vanquished get painted with a broad brush of incompetence, infighting, and failure.

While it is the candidates who matter most in determining who wins our quadrennial contests for the Oval Office, the advisers, staffers, and supporters are in fact an invaluable part of the strange organism that is a presidential effort.

Team Trump, led by campaign captains Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, and championed by such prominent backers such as Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is currently on an earned victory lap, lauded for the crafting and execution of a plan that led to a smashing success.

Outside that spotlighted inner circle are scores of others who contributed mightily, from surrogates, to donors, to staffers, to state directors.

One could fill a book with fascinating profiles of these often unsung stars who played significant roles in the Trump-Vance triumph.

Based on conversations with a range of sources in and around Team Trump, here’s a starting look at four folks among the many women and men who, below the radar, helped drive Trump’s GOAT historic comeback:

1. James Blair, Trump campaign political director

Blair took charge of a budget that, while sizable, was smaller than that of the Harris campaign, and transformed it into a formidable turn-out-the-vote grassroots operation in the battleground states.  He also took on two complex tasks: building a system to reach and turn out low-propensity voters and using a new legal ruling that allowed the campaign to closely coordinate with well-funded but inexperienced outside groups for voter mobilization.  

Blair remained calm, cool, and analytical in the face of doubts from the media, the Democrats, and even his own party that he would succeed. 

Although there was some secret sauce in the political director’s jambalaya, he was, in fact, remarkably open about his strategy, notable during several pre-election long-form interviews in which he displayed the classic assured operative’s mix of humility and confidence.

2. Lee Zeldin, former New York congressman

After running a strong race for governor of the Empire State in 2022 and coming up just short, Zeldin took his newfound expertise in turning out those infrequent voters that Trump was counting on by heading the turnout operation of America First Works. It was a low-profile voter program (compared to those of Musk and Charlie Kirk) but one that nonetheless proved to be an effective get-out-the-vote operation based on rigorous metrics and grassroots focus. The group’s own data suggests that its efforts were remarkably efficient, turning out a very high percentage of the voters its workers targeted. 

Zeldin is that rare person who has both served in elective office and has the soul and vision of a top political operative. His determination and loyalty to Trump has landed him a position in the new administration as EPA administrator. 

3. Walt Nauta, assistant to Donald Trump

After being caught up in Jack Smith’s investigation of the Mar-a-Lago documents case, Nauta stayed physically close and personally loyal to Trump, continuing to serve as a super valet, anticipating the former president’s needs, fulfilling requests, and providing nonstop practical and material comfort to the on-the-go candidate.  

The former chief petty officer from Guam has a demeanor similar to that of Trump sidekick Dan Scavino: a calming voice and subtle influence, always in the background but forever at hand, serving as a source of Pacific calm for a man who otherwise often leads a life of swirling chaos.

4. Hogan Gidley, campaign strategist

The supreme Trump loyalist and Southern gentleman, with a quick, sharp mind and gracious style, Gidley has been described as ‘assassin but not a viper’ – and that is by his fans.  

For years, he has ventured into hostile on-air territory such as MSNBC, CNN, and CBS News and emerged unrattled and typically victorious.  

During the last three months of the campaign, Gidley fluidly managed the assignment of working with Congressman Mike Johnson to engage the Speaker’s office in some significant legislative and PR fights and beef up defense of the president’s agenda and the president himself, all with a more pugnacious style than the usual mode of the soft-spoken Louisianan.  

Thanks in part to Gidley, Johnson ended the campaign smoothly integrated into the Trump machine, praised publicly by the POTUS-elect, invited to Mar-a-Lago, and prepped for coordinated teamwork when the new administration moves into the White House. 

President-elect Donald Trump has wasted little time in naming top White House and Cabinet officials to serve in his administration as he prepares to be sworn in for a second term in January.

It remains to be seen, however, who Trump will pick to head up his Justice Department, perhaps one of the most important vacancies to be filled in the next administration. 

Early contenders for the post include sitting U.S. senators, former Justice Department personnel and at least one top White House adviser from Trump’s first term.

Though each would bring widely different backgrounds and perspectives to the position, they all share one common trait: loyalty to the president-elect and a willingness to back his agenda and policies over the next four years. 

As the U.S. awaits a formal announcement from the president-elect, here are some of the top names being floated for the role of U.S. attorney general.

Sen. Mike Lee, R- Utah, is considered to be a more conventional pick to head up the Justice Department. Lee is a high-ranking Republican in the chamber and would face a somewhat easy path to Senate confirmation, at least compared to some of the more controversial names that have surfaced.

But he may not be gunning for the role.

The Utah Republican told reporters last week that while he has been in frequent conversations with Trump’s transition team, he plans to focus his sway in the Republican-majority Senate on helping gin up support for Trump’s Cabinet nominees and helping select the Senate majority leader, a leadership election in which Lee, as current chair of the Senate Steering Committee, is poised to a play a major role.

‘I have the job I want,’ Lee told the Deseret News in an interview. ‘And I look forward to working in the next Congress and with President Trump and his team to implement his agenda and the reform agenda that Republicans have offered and campaigned on, and it’s going to be an exciting time. We’ve got a lot of work to do.’

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is among the top names being considered to head up the Justice Department. 

Ratcliffe, a former federal prosecutor and a former U.S. representative from Texas, earned the spotlight during Trump’s first term for his outspoken criticism of the FBI and of the special counsel investigation overseen by Robert Mueller.

Trump tapped Ratcliffe in 2019 to replace Dan Coates as the Director of National Intelligence. The following year, he was tapped by the outgoing president to be a member of his impeachment team.

Former White House attorney Mark Paoletta served during Trump’s first term as counsel to then-Vice President Mike Pence and to the Office of Management and Budget.

Paoletta is also already working on the Trump transition team, including helping steer Justice Department policy in the next Trump administration, making him a potentially natural fit for the role.

Paoletta also made clear Monday that if tapped to head up the Justice Department, he would not tolerate any resistance to Trump’s agenda by career prosecutors and other nonpolitical officials.

In a lengthy post on the social media site, X, Paoletta said career employees are ‘required to implement the President’s plan’ after an election, even ones they may consider unethical or illegal. 

‘If these career DOJ employees won’t implement President Trump’s program in good faith, they should leave,’ Paoletta said, noting that employees who engage in so-called ‘resistance’ to Trump’s agenda would be guilty of ‘subverting American democracy’ and subject to ‘disciplinary measures, including termination.’

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is also among the names floated to lead the Department of Justice. Bailey was tapped by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in 2022 to be the state’s top prosecutor after then-state Attorney General Eric Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Since taking over the state AG’s office, Bailey has led dozens of lawsuits against the Biden administration and sought to defend the state on a number of conservative issues as well. 

Those familiar with Bailey’s ascent say his lower-profile career could be an asset as a possible U.S. attorney general, especially since the role requires Senate confirmation. He could be aided here by Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, two Missouri Republicans who also served as state attorney general before their Senate service.

Since neither appear to be seeking the role of the top U.S. prosector, they could play a key role in stumping for Bailey in the Senate if his name does come up for consideration.

Former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker temporarily led the Justice Department after Trump fired former Attorney General Jeff Sessions during his first term.

Asked last week in a Fox News interview whether he wants the role, Whitaker declined to answer, saying that the decision is Trump’s to make. 

‘He’s going to want someone who he knows, likes and trusts,’ Whitaker said. ‘He’s going to want someone who was there from the beginning,’ he added, and who can help defend against what Whitaker described as ‘all this lawfare nonsense.’ 

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment as to who remains on its list of candidates to lead the Justice Department.

President-elect Trump flipped six highly competitive states in his election victory last week. But his gains with voters were not limited to the battlegrounds.

Trump improved his vote share across the country, starting with conservative areas but extending into deeply Democratic states.

It is a critical part of the story of this election: one where Trump built a broader coalition and led on two defining issues of the campaign.

Trump gained in the battlegrounds and beyond, including traditionally Democratic areas

Trump gained in all seven of the battleground states. He gained 1.8 points in and , 1.4 points in , just over a point in , and under a point in .

(Trump’s largest gains are currently in Nevada and Arizona, two of ten states where there is significant vote left to count.)

But Trump’s best performances relative to 2020 were in reliably Democratic states. These states voted for Democrats, but by narrower margins than before.

His strongest improvement was in , where the former and future president gained 6.4 points. 

His county-level gains were spread across the state, but notably included an improvement in all five of the New York City boroughs (where, again, there are some votes left to be counted).

He also posted a 5-point improvement in neighboring , enough to reduce the margin of his loss to just 5.5 points. That is the best performance for a Republican candidate in more than three decades.

Look for New Jersey and (Trump +2.4 since 2020) to become a focal point in future elections, beginning with next year’s gubernatorial races.

Trump also took more vote share in (Trump +4.2 since 2020); another Democratic state with a highly populated urban area.

And as some pre-election polls predicted, the president-elect brought home another five points worth of votes in , where Democrats fought hard for a victory just two cycles ago.

Just as he improved in the battlegrounds and left-leaning states, he also put up strong gains in states like , , and . Trump posted a 3-point improvement in all four of those conservative states, with smaller improvements in over a dozen more.

In fact, as of this writing, there isn’t a single state in the country where Trump turned in a weaker performance than he did four years ago.

Harris’ gains limited to a handful of disparate areas

So far, Harris has only outperformed President Biden’s vote share in one state: where she gained 0.6 points since the last election.

But even in Utah, Trump also performed about a point better than he did in 2020. It’s third party candidates who saw the most erosion. (And there are many ballots left to count.)

To find positives for Harris, you have to search for a smattering of counties across the nation.

The Vice President did between 2-9 points better in a few counties in the metropolitan area, led by Henry, Rockdale and Douglas.

She also improved in some of the counties most impacted by Hurricane Helene, particularly Democratic-leaning Buncombe, but also Henderson and Transylvania. She posted about a 4-point gain in each.

Kaufman County, in the Dallas suburbs, also bucked the national trend. That county swung about 6 points towards Harris.

Harris posted a modest gain in Chaffee County, , otherwise known as the ‘Heart of the Rockies’ (here, too, there are some outstanding ballots).

And there are signs that parts of Oregon and Washington could end up more Democratic than 2020 when counting is finished.

These are the exceptions to a clear rule: voters almost uniformly swung away from the Democrats this cycle.

Trump created a broader coalition and led on the top two issues

The Fox News Voter Analysis shows that Trump’s gains came from multiple groups, and that voters preferred him on two defining issues.

As the Polling Unit writes:

Trump’s victory was powered by his strength on the economy and immigration – two of voters’ top concerns. He was seen as a stronger leader than Harris in a time of turmoil, and voters remembered his presidency more fondly than their evaluations of the current administration. Trump ran up the score with his base while narrowing traditional Democratic advantages among Black, Hispanic, and young voters.

The complete Fox News Voter Analysis is available on FoxNews.com.