LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – In the days leading up to the U.S. presidential election, national polls said the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was close, or that she would win.
Ultimately, Trump received the necessary 270 electoral votes and was elected the 47th President of the United States.
Kevin Smith, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studies different political trends and says people should have expected President-elect Trump to win.
“I don’t think the result is very surprising in that Trump has done better, Trump has always been ahead of his polls,” he said.
Smith said he believes Trump performed so well in part because Americans were angry with the Biden administration, of which Harris was a part.
In Nebraska, Trump won four electoral votes. Harris won the state’s 2nd Congressional District, capturing the district’s single electoral vote.
There were also ballot initiatives at stake in the election, and all but two are meeting their fate.
The medical marijuana ballot measures passed with overwhelming support, but with the initiative currently at the mercy of the courts, it remains to be seen whether the will of the people will be respected.
“Essentially what it comes down to is we are directly opposing what a majority of voters said they want,” Smith said. “And I mean, when you do that in politics, there’s a risk that comes with it, no matter what the problem is.”
He added that you don’t have to look far to see voters taking revenge on the government for attacking the wishes of the people.
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