Donald Trump has become the United States' president-elect. After an especially contentious election, which became closer than many had anticipated, Trump reached the necessary 240 electoral votes needed to pull off a surprise victory.
According to an Associated Press article, while Hilary Clinton spent month warning that "Trump was unfit and unqualified to be president," she was unable to sell many voters on her candidacy, while facing "questions about her honesty and trustworthiness."
Exit polls showed that while women supported Clinton over Trump by a double digit margin, men were "significantly more likely" to vote for Trump. The discrepancy between white, black and Hispanic voters was also significant: Trump was backed by more than half the white voters, while two-thirds of the Hispanic voters and 90 percent of black voters cast their ballots for Clinton.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press also reported that amendments for marijuana use, gun control, and minimum wage hikes were winners in the polls. Massachusetts, Nevada and California voters approved legalizing recreational use of marijuana, while Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas "voted to allow pot for medical purposes." Arizona voters rejected recreational use of marijuana.
Gun control was also on the ballot in California, Maine, Nevada and Washington state. In Maine, Colorado and Arizona, a minimum wage of $12 and hour was approved, to be implemented in phases by 2020. In Washington state, where the current minimum wage stands at $9.47 an hour, the new minimum wage of $13.50 an hour was approved. That also would be phased in by 2020. The current federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour.
To read the two AP stories in their entirety, click here and here.
