Christians should not be rejoicing and ecstatic with the results. Pres. Trump is not a Christian by almost any doctrinal standard, since he does not believe in repentance personally. Yet, we can learn something about the American people, especially on the massive issue of abortion. VP Harris ran on abortion rights, but Trump did not run on banning abortion, but left it a state-level matter. In fact, abortion bans did not win overall on election day. This continues illustrates that America is a divided nation.
Being all for abortion and so-called woman’s right (except for baby girls—future women—in the womb) is not a winning issue. It is not a unifying rallying cry, especially those who have a family. The left’s ideological appeal to minorities was mostly a failure. Not many average people have internalized radical ideals as emotional religious tenets. I don’t think we can even say Trump was a great candidate that people loved. With two people to vote for, he only had to be a better candidate, not a great one. My 4 year old son asked if I was voting for George Washington as president. I had to lament that there was no one on that level on my ballot.
According to the following quote, more white women voted than white men, and NBC reports that 53% of all voters were female. That is interesting on several levels, especially in regards to abortion:
Donald Trump made historic gains among Hispanic men in 2024 and still won white female voters by eight points nationally. He led by seven points with this demographic in 2020 — a considerable uptick from his two-point lead with white women in 2016. White women were the largest subgroup of US voters this year when broken down by race and gender, comprising 40%, compared to the 35% represented by white men (Laurel Duggan, Unherd).
But the president does not decide abortion policy. States do now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortion is not a winning issue, but it may still be a losing one. America remains divided.
Yet, we can say that abortion combined with identity politics is not a positive thing. The absurd “people of color” category, which is a liberal ideological creation, says nothing about real people, who are vastly unique.
Among Latinos, a key part of the Democratic voter base for decades, Trump benefited from a mammoth 14 percentage-point bump compared to the 2020 election, according to exit polls (BBC).
So even when Trump was first elected his support among this group was not so strong. Despite not being in the palest “white” category, family is important among many Hispanics, especially the religious ones:
Trump’s support among Latino Protestants also surged from 48% in 2020 to 64% in 2024. The 34% of the vote Harris received from Latino Protestants in 2024 amounted to a steep decline from the 51% support captured by Biden in 2020 (Christian Post).
Abortion is not something they want thrown in their face. Many American can live with it and even tacitly support it (for others), but only the political zealots get excited about the prospect of murder—that is a hard sell. Murder after all is the opposite of life and not a positive thing. Calling it a “right” is to sidestep the issue itself.
Exit polls suggested Latinos in Pennsylvania amounted to about 5% of the total vote. Trump garnered 42% of that vote, compared to 27% when he ran against Joe Biden in 2020.
This does not mean new found love for Trump, but it is easier to sell him (a businessman) with high inflation post-covid.
Nine in 10 voters were very or somewhat concerned about the price of groceries (BBC).
Ideological causes, such as racial justice and equity, don’t matter for most people who just would like to survive and have the possibility of a decent life here on earth. It is hard to be incumbent—as President Trump learned after first presidential victory.
Harris’ campaign was anti-Trump and anti-family. It didn’t have much to promote it that even seemed positive among those who had not drunk the liberal kool-aid.
Abortion at the State Level
Besides Florida which continued it stance of banning abortions by a significant margin, there was a backlash in most states against abortion bans.
Voters in Missouri [by 51.6%] cleared the way to undo one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans in one of seven victories for abortion rights advocates, while Florida (57.2% against), Nebraska [51.1% against] and South Dakota [58.6% against] defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving bans in place (AP).
Even Nebraska, a conservative state overall, barely continues it abortion ban. I think this shows that most American don’t love or hate abortion—they would rather it not be too extreme or in-your-face. Even the successful Nebraska initiative allows for abortion in first trimester and if “the pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or incest.” Clearly, without these exceptions for murder, it would not have passed. That is hardly an absolute stance. Christians should not be celebrating that murder in a lot of cases is illegal, but not all.
Elitism
American’s institutions, like colleges and media, lean quite ideologically liberal. But presumptuous celebrities and self-important media figures do not have the sway they imagine they do. The average person is more critical and less gullible toward self-appointed experts who hold the media spotlight. That is quite welcome. Media figures insulting Trump and painting him as a demonic apparition did not sway the majority who were on the fence.
The most educated people tend to be the least religious and most loyal to the Democratic party platform. The NBC News exit polled showed that 38 % of Republicans had an advanced academic degree, while 59% of Democratic voters did. In the same poll only 42% of Republican votes had a college degree versus 55%. The totals were closer, but still skewed based on income levels—higher incomes leaning Democratic. Does this indicate the waning important of college—the liberal bastion for decades? College prices and lessening utility may have a big impact on the future. See the National Review article in this issue describing Harvard professors giving students relaxed requirements to help them recover from the emotionally taxing election. This is pure weakness to the person who has to work and struggle far from the ivory tower. Trump, for all his flaws, has done much and projects confidence and personal conviction.
So despite the Democratic party’s appeal to “oppressed” minorities, the average person of lower education and income did not fall for it. Those who have children under 18 leaned Republican, speaking of the lack of abortion importance. Gays, transgenderists, and their anti-natural ilk are not a big majority in election constituencies, despite how much they are talked about.
Practical Voters
The most highly correlated stats seem to be on the economy, which is a practical issue. Those satisfied with the economy (indicating it as “excellent”), the most well-off voters, were 89% Democratic. Those calling it “poor” voted 87% Republican. That a is stark difference. These sorts of daily life issues were even more strong correlated with votes than abortion or other moral issues—abortion being just behind in percentage points.
Abortion was not the presidential issue the Democrats assumed it was:
Sensing an opening, Democrats hammered the abortion issue throughout the campaign and targeted white and married women. One ad portrayed two white women voting for Kamala Harris and hiding it from their husbands, and other ads focused on abortion — despite the issue consistently polling well below inflation and immigration among voters’ priorities. In a recent NYT survey, white women listed inflation and the economy as their top issues, followed by abortion (Laurel Duggan, Unherd)
The ideologues were out of touch with the average working person. Pitting women against men (and babies) is not good, nor winsome.
Men
More women voters in this election is telling—they do hold the power if they have more votes.
Many young men believe they live in a liberal-leaning society that actively despises them, treating them with disdain rather than empathy as their struggles have mounted. … Harris’s rise may have reminded young men that they now compete in a world which at times seems stacked against them. … That may not be enough to soothe the souls of young men victimised by a pervasive media culture and academic ideology primed to see them as the enemy. (Lee Fang, Unherd)
A reaction against the fight to tear down patriarchy (which required lowering men, in other words) has not brought about universal peace and happiness. It has subverted men’s roles and de-prioritized family to equalize women, who were not made to be the head, but to submit to one.
Every voter is unique and has there own reason, or lack of rationale, in voting. This voting of this election does not mean abortion is over or we are suddenly a Christian nation after election night—far from it. But it does indicate a further fragmentation of the American society. We are still deeply divided, but not reliably enough for any one candidate to fully exploit. Pray for the souls of this nation, that God the Father would win each one by the saving power of Christ’s Gospel. That is the only way to achieve eternal victory. We can petition our Lord to spare our nation from destruction, so more can hear and believe the only truly good news of Jesus’ redemption for all humanity. —ed.
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