TAMPA, Fla. — With the presidential election over, we're beginning to learn more about how President-Elect Donald Trump beat Vice President Harris.  

What You Need To Know

  • Young voters at USF said they were surprised by the margin of President-Elect Donald Trump's victory.  

  • Data shows Donald Trump made significant strides among young voters compared to 2020.  

  • According to AP Votecast, a survey of voters on election day, 51% between the ages of 18-29 voted for Democrats and 46% voting for Republicans. 

One of the reasons is how Trump performed among young voters compared to when he ran in 2020. 

While some young voters in Florida are not surprised he won, they didn't think he would win by so much. 

"You were told that this race was going to be very close and seeing how Trump took all seven swing states was such an upset," University of South Florida and Trump voter Landen Scott said. "Nobody expected that."

"I'm kind of shocked, I didn't think there would be such a disparity in the voters," USF student and Hariss voter Orion Miller said. "I thought it would be a lot closer. I was hoping for a Harris victory but I can't say that I'm exactly surprised either." 

J. Edwin Benton, a Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at USF, said he thought the race would be close and that it wouldn't take much no matter who came out on top. 

Looking at how people of different demographics voted this election, Benton said President-Elect Trump made strides among all voters. 

"Vice President Harris was not able to hang on to traditional groups of voters unlike other Democrats and Donald Trump made some significant inroads, especially among the young voters," he said.

According to AP Votecast, a survey of voters on election day, in 2020, 61% of those between the ages of 18-29 voted for the Democrats with only 36% voting for the GOP. 

This election there was a major swing among that age group with 51% voting for Democrats and 46% voting for Republicans.