The End of the Presidential Race

Ainsley Gordon, Copy Editor

The candidates have finally passed the finish line.

At the end of Election Day, Donald Trump has become the president-elect, finishing the presidential race.

As a republican, Trump’s policies follow those of the party. At Bullitt East, some American citizens are surprised at the outcome of the election. Although Trump was named the president-elect on Wednesday, he will not start his term as President of the United States until January.

One of Trump’s most popular policies is the wall he plans to build at the border of the United States and Mexico. The construction of the wall is planned to stop undocumented immigrants to pass the border.

Another prominent issue that Trump promised to address is tax cuts. He wants to enforce major tax cuts by withdrawing the taxes on estates, lowering the highest individual tax rates and withdrawing taxes on high-income families. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump said, “I’m going to cut taxes big league, and you’re [Clinton] going to raise taxes big league. End of story.”

Some of the smaller, but still important policies addressed were repealing Obamacare, securing the Second Amendment and stricter international trade.

“People are ready for someone [Trump] to take office that is not a career politician who owes favors to every PAC and special interest group. Someone to make changes and help bring changes in areas with healthcare, homeland security, and the economy,” said Debbie Pitcock, Algebra 2 teacher at Bullitt East.

It came as a shock to some Americans when results from the election finalized.

“I was surprised since the media kept saying that Clinton was favored to win,” said Jenna Hoglen, foreign language teacher.

According to a forecast created by the New York Times called Chance of Winning Presidency, around 9 p.m. on election night Clinton had about an 80 percent chance of winning, giving Trump a 20 percent chance. However, the results started switching a little after 9 p.m. and around 12 a.m. Trump had climbed to a 95 percent chance of winning the presidential election.

Trump gave his victory speech around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. While Clinton gave her concession speech on Wednesday afternoon, officially ending her presidential campaign.

To win the election the candidate needed to earn 270 electoral votes. In the early morning on Wednesday Trump had earned 276 votes and Clinton fell behind with 218 votes. At the time, 44 votes were still undecided.

While Trump won the electoral votes, Clinton took the lead in the popular vote. She leads 47.7 percent of the votes to Trump’s 47.5 percent.

Trump will be awarded the title of the 45th president of the United States on his Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017.