The results of the 2016 United States presidential election are in. Donald Trump has won the election. He will be the 45th President of the United States of America. Mike Pence, the Governor of Indiana who served as Trump’s running mate, will be the 48th Vice President.

Yesterday was a day that Americans had waited nineteen months for. After a long, brutal, and controversial race, Americans were finally able to vote for the person they wanted to be in the White House for the next four years. And the results took Americans completely by surprise. National polls leading up to the election indicated that Clinton would win, but Trump was the one who prevailed and pulled off the upset.

So what happened?

Trump won the battleground states of Florida and North Carolina, but perhaps the biggest surprise of the night came when the so-called “Blue Wall” – Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania –  all turned red. Had Clinton won all three Blue Wall states, she would’ve won the election. Possibly a contributor to Clinton’s loss in Wisconsin is the fact that she never stepped foot in the state during the campaign. The Blue Wall clearly contributed to Clinton’s loss, but an unpredicted increase in rural voters favoring Trump contributed as well. In addition, the African-American turnout was much lower than it had been four years ago in 2012, especially in Detroit and Philadelphia. Many stayed home and inadvertently helped Trump win Michigan and Pennsylvania, which helped Trump win the entire election.

However, Clinton actually won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes. This is only the fourth time in American history that the winner of the electoral college was the one to lose the popular vote.

Earlier this morning, Clinton, knowing that Trump would not give up his lead in the race, called Trump to concede the election and offer her congratulations. Less than ten minutes later, CNN projected Trump would win the election, and Trump spoke to his supporters who had gathered at the New York Hilton in Manhattan. Clinton was supposed to speak at her watch party last night, either in triumph or defeat, but as it got later in the evening, her campaign chair gave a statement telling everyone that she would not speak at that time, and it was best if everyone went home. Clinton gave her concession speech earlier today. President Obama also called Trump to congratulate him and invite him to the White House.

Many people may be unaware that there were also Senate and House of Representatives elections yesterday as well, since they were largely overshadowed by the presidential election. In the House, where all seats were being voted for, the Republicans entered with the majority and exited with the majority. In Illinois’ third congressional district, which encompasses most if not all of the LTHS student body, Democratic representative Dan Lipinski was reelected without opposition.

In the Senate, Illinois Republican senator Mark Kirk was one of thirty-four senators whose term expired this year. Kirk ran for re-election, but was opposed by Democrat Tammy Duckworth, the representative for Illinois’ eighth congressional district. Duckworth won with 54% of the vote. Like the House of Representatives, the Republicans retained their control over the Senate.

President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence will be sworn into office on January 20, 2017.