White voters powered Donald Trump’s dramatic victory in the race for president, but the Republican nominee also outperformed expectations among voting groups that traditionally support Democrats.
Just after 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press projected Trump as the winner with 274 electoral votes after the billionaire businessman had won come-from-behind victories in key contested states.
According to early exit polls shared by CNN, as of 12:16 a.m. EST, Trump won about 60 percent of white voters and nearly 70 percent of whites with no college degree.
Trump also won 53 percent of white women, despite allegations focused on his past treatment of some women.
White voters made up about 70 percent of the electorate.
Trump earned roughly the same share of Hispanic voters as the GOP’s 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, with about 30 percent of the vote. Black voters overwhelmingly supported Clinton (88 percent), but not in the same numbers that they did for President Barack Obama (93 percent) in 2012.
Trump, meanwhile, won 8 percent of the black vote, compared with the 6 percent share of the black vote earned by Romney in 2012.
Here are some other key numbers that help explain how Trump, a real estate developer and TV celebrity, defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, U.S. senator, and first lady:
—Conservatives, despite misgivings over some of his policy ideas, stayed with their party to support Trump. Eighty-one percent of self-described conservatives backed Trump. Eighty-four percent of liberals backed Clinton.
—Trump scored high with voters who viewed immigration and terrorism as top issues facing the country. Of those who said immigration was the “most important issue,” 64 percent supported Trump. Fifty-seven percent of those who listed terrorism as the most important issue chose Trump. Clinton performed better than Trump with voters who viewed foreign policy and the economy as top issues.
—Voters who said they are “angry” with the federal government turned to Trump to change things. Nearly 80 percent of those who described themselves as angry supported Trump. Clinton won 78 percent of voters who called themselves “enthusiastic” about the government. Sixty-nine percent of voters overall considered themselves “dissatisfied” or angry.
—According to the FiveThirtyEight blog, evangelical voters were among the strongest demographic groups for Trump. Trump’s margin among evangelical white Christians was 81 percent to 16 percent. If that mark held, it would be the widest margin for a Republican presidential candidate among evangelicals since 2004.
This story has been updated.
