The 2016 Presidential Election by the Numbers and in Historical Perspective

Using election results as our point of departure, this article places the 2016 presidential election in historical perspective. Trump's victory was an "expected" outcome, as races following two-terms of one party rule usually go to the opposition party. Trump also ran close to fellow Republicans competing for Congress despite his unusual relationship with many of those in the party he captured. Trump's victory in the presidential contest proved remarkably economical. He lost most of his votes relative to Romney in 2012 in places where it did not matter, while his opponent ran up the score in the states she already had locked down. We further measure the increasing geographic concentration of each major party's electoral support and consider how this relates to the controversy over the Electoral College.