President-elect Donald Trump‘s victory in Pennsylvania was one of his key decisive wins Tuesday as he took down the three “blue wall” states en route to a victory in the presidential race.
Overall, Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, 50.5%-48.5%, in Pennsylvania, with the president-elect winning more than 130,000 more votes than the vice president in the commonwealth. Trump’s win was aided by strong performances in several key counties in the greater Philadelphia area, along with some bellwether areas, including in the western part of the Keystone State.
In many of the Democratic counties around Philadelphia, including Delaware, Montgomery, and Chester counties, Trump made gains on his margins from 2020. While Harris easily won all three counties, she was unable to drive up the margins like how President Joe Biden did four years ago.
Delaware County shifted 3.4 percentage points more toward Trump compared to 2020, Montgomery County shifted 3.6 points more toward Trump, and Chester County shifted 3.1 points more toward Trump this year compared to four years ago.
Within Philadelphia itself, Harris won by roughly 58%, but in an area where Democratic votes are key to driving up margins to win statewide, the city voted 4.9 points more toward Trump in 2024 compared to 2020. One of the key reasons for Trump’s gains was his improved margins with Latino voters, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In Bucks County, just north of Philadelphia, Trump became the first GOP presidential candidate to win it since 1988. He shifted the key swing county by 4.7 points to win it, 49.7%-49.4%, over Harris.
Trump also had key gains in the northeastern part of the state, where Biden is from. The former president saw a 5.6-point improvement in Lackawanna County from 2020 and in Luzerne County, where Trump saw a 5.7-point improvement from 2020. The white working-class makeup of the area helped Trump win the state as union workers’ votes were up for grabs without Biden at the top of the ticket.
Northampton County, a bellwether in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, flipped back to Trump this year after voting for Biden in 2020. Trump saw a 2.9-point improvement in the county, along with a 5.2-point improvement in neighboring Lehigh County, as the area was a key pickup area for Trump’s statewide odds.
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The president-elect also saw key gains in the western part of the state, including flipping Erie County back from the Democrats. Trump won the bellwether county in 2016 and lost it in 2020, but he regained it in 2024.
Trump was not the only Republican who had a good election in the Keystone State, with GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick flipping Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA) seat (though a recount is possible in the race) and multiple other downballot wins for the party.