The victory of Donald Trump in this year's presidential election was mainly dependent on the traditional "blue-wall" Democratic-ruled states of the United States. Wins in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan proved instrumental in his return to the White House.

The 'Red Mirage' and changes in outcomes

As votes were being counted after the election, many analysts predicted a 'red mirage', with Republicans marking in-person ballots in red and Democrats in blue with mail-in ballots.

But when Trump held on to his lead after crossing 270 electoral votes, the Democrats' hopes of victory faded.

The 'Blue-Wall' and Trump's victory

'Blue-Wall' refers to states where Democrats have been winning for a long time. Such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump won these states over Democrats in 2016, and Joe Biden took them back in 2020. Trump won these states again in this election. Which is considered to be the reason for Harris' defeat.

Trump wins in three key states

Pennsylvania: Trump won by 2 percentage points and won 19 electoral votes.

Wisconsin: Trump won by 0.9 percentage points here, earning 10 electoral votes.

Michigan: Trump won the state by 1.4 percentage points and won 15 electoral votes.

Reasons for the Democrats' defeat

1. Economy and living standards: Harris's campaign focused primarily on women's rights and abortion rights. However, issues related to the economy and jobs were almost absent from the Democrats' campaign. Which goes for Trump.

Fifty-one percent of those who voted for Trump trust him to manage the economy, more than Harris.

2. Coalition Building and Candidate Selection: Harris' choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as his vice presidential running mate was a controversial decision. Because he couldn't make a strong case for the Democrats in his campaign.

Some analysts believe that picking Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as his running mate might have increased voter turnout for Harris.

3. The Gaza Issue in Michigan: The recent Israeli offensive on Gaza has become an important issue as Michigan has a large Arab-American population. Many voters in the state reacted negatively to both candidates, who supported Israel in the Gaza crisis. Many Arab-American voters have therefore turned to Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who has promised an end to the war in Gaza.

4. Third-party influence: Jill Stein and other third-party candidates received about 2 percent of the vote in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. That has been a loss for Democrats.

For all these reasons, the Democrats lost in the 'blue-wall' states in this election. That paved the way for Trump's re-election to the presidency. Source: Al Jazeera