Ultimately, Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election was decided by Wisconsin, just as was the case eight years ago during the presidential race against Hillary Clinton.

Clinton was the favorite to take the White House in 2016 and her defeat sent shockwaves across the country and the world.

This year’s results and election night proceedings don’t just look like those 2016 race – it was almost identical.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz said just six days ago that the 2024 presidential election reminded him “so much of 2016.”

“I think there are a lot of similarities, right now, between this campaign and that campaign,” Luntz told CNN’s Sara Sidner. “At the time, the divisions in the country were great and people thought Trump didn’t have a chance. He wins and wins. »

In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College in a landslide. with 304 votes to 227 for Clinton. As America looks at the 2024 election map, it stands at 295 for Trump and 226 for Vice President Kamala Harris – with Nevada and Arizona still to be called.

The 2024 map – minus the states that have not yet been decided – looks almost identical to the 2016 version, except for a split vote in Nebraska in 2024.

Trump, in 2016 and 2024, won the battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. These are states that Joe Biden captured in 2020 to secure his victory.

The similarities between Clinton and Harris’ 2024 campaigns don’t just extend to the map.

Eight years ago, Clinton seemed to have gained momentum after a star-studded rally on the eve of the election in North Carolina, featuring performances by Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga. This reflected the scenes from Harris in Philadelphia, supported by Gaga again, Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry.

Election night 2024 started the same way it did eight years ago. Around 7 p.m. on Election Day, Kentucky and Indiana called for Asset, while Vermont was called Harris. The same states and results were also announced first in the 2016 race.

It didn’t take long for the red mirage to show itself in both races.

Ohio, JD Vance’s home state — which was a swing state at the time — was called for Trump this year around the same time he was turning red eight years ago, at 10:35 p.m. Clinton had made progress in the final weeks of the race in the Buckeye State, but it wasn’t enough.

Harris was never expected to take Ohio, but following the furor over baseless Republican rumors about Haitian migrants ‘eat people’s animals’ perhaps there were hopes that this might have helped the Democrats. This is not the case.

As of 11 p.m. in 2016, Trump’s path to the White House was much clearer than the Democrats’, as it was last night.

At 10:50 p.m. in 2016, Trump collected 29 electoral votes by winning the then-fledgling state of Florida in a stunning upset. This year, Trump won in the Sunshine State on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.

The battleground state of Pennsylvania, which polls showed was within Harris’ reach, was called for Trump at 1:35 a.m. in 2016. That monumental call came shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday this year.

Shortly afterward, Clinton campaign manager John Podesta urged his supporters to “make the votes count” and “bring this home.” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley I felt the need to send an upbeat memo between 10 and 11 p.m. to calm the nerves.

“As we continue to see data pour in from the Sun Belt states, we have known all along that our clearest path to 270 electoral votes is through the Blue Wall states,” O’Malley said. “And we’re happy with what we see.”

At the Harris watch party On Tuesday evening at Howard University in Washington DC, senior campaign adviser Cedric Richmond said the vice president would not speak when the results were announced.

“This resonates badly with the Javits Center in New York in 2016, where Hillary Clinton did not address her supporters and simply sent her chief of staff to tell everyone to go home,” the journalist said Jon Sopel and The Independent“, declared the columnist before the result was confirmed. “Not a good look.”

Eight years ago, at 2:29 a.m., the state of Wisconsin was called for Trump, and it was all over. Just like Tuesday at 5:30 a.m., he won the state’s 10 electoral votes, pushing it past the 270 mark.

Around 2:50 a.m., Clinton had called Trump to formally concede and congratulate him on his victory, and he took the stage in New York to declare victory shortly afterward. Harris didn’t concede until after that year, but Trump wasted no time securing victory around 3 a.m.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, jubilant scenes took place at Trump’s headquarters in West Palm Beach. as the republican took the stage and was victorious before Wisconsin’s result was even known.

As the Trump campaign relives the joy of eight years ago, the night’s proceedings will undoubtedly bring back difficult memories for Clinton and Democrats.