Kamala Harris performed worse among three core demographics

Vice President Kamala Harris lost the presidency to Donald Trump after failing to improve on President Joe Biden's performance in 2020 with three key voting blocs.

Trump secured the 270 electoral votes needed to enter the White House after winning battleground Wisconsin early Wednesday morning.

Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party nominee, replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee after Biden abandoned his re-election bid in July over concerns about his age.

For about three months, she tried to introduce herself to voters and create a contrast with Trump, who refused to accept defeat after the 2020 election, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and was convicted of felonies earlier this year.

He ran a campaign that tapped into frustration over the economy and fears about migrants and promised to deport millions in a second term as part of the largest deportation program in American history.

Trump emerged victorious after improving his 2020 performance among most demographics and retaking key battlegrounds he lost to Biden in 2020, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Georgia.

Harris' defeat comes as exit polls show shifts in support for Trump among three demographic groups that helped Biden win four years ago: Black, Hispanic/Latino and younger voters.

Black voters

Black voters have long been a loyal voting bloc for Democrats. According to the Pew Research Center, they were crucial to Biden's victory in 2020, when 92 percent voted for him and only 8 percent supported Trump.

But exit polls suggest Harris did slightly worse with black voters than Biden did four years ago. She won the support of 86 percent of black voters, while Trump received 12 percent, according to an Edison Research exit poll.

Black women overwhelmingly supported Harris over Trump this year, 92 percent to 7 percent, according to exit polls. Black women had supported Biden by a similar margin in 2020, 95 percent to 5 percent.

There were concerns that Harris would lose support among black men, and exit polls suggest they supported her by a slightly smaller majority – 78 percent to 20 percent – than Biden secured in 2020. This year Biden received support from 87 percent Black men, while Trump received 12 percent support.

Hispanic/Latino voters

Harris won a majority of Hispanic/Latino voters nationwide, 53 percent versus 45 percent for Trump, a poll showed.

But she did significantly worse than Biden, who had a double-digit lead among Latino/Hispanic voters in 2020 — 59 percent versus Trump's 38 percent.

Hispanic/Latino men voted for Trump in greater numbers this year (54 percent to Harris' 44 percent) than in 2020, when Biden received 57 percent support and Trump 40 percent. However, exit polls suggest that Harris received as much support from Hispanic/Latino women (61 percent to 37 percent) as Biden did in 2020.

Younger voters

Voters ages 18 to 29 supported Harris over Trump by about 13 percentage points. According to exit polls, she received the support of 55 percent of voters in that age group, while Trump received 42 percent.

But their performance in this age group was worse compared to Biden's four years ago. He won the age group by 24 percentage points in 2020, when 59 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 supported him and 35 percent voted for Trump.

However, Harris did better among voters 65 and older than Biden did in 2020. She and Trump each received about half the votes from that age group this year, while Trump won by a margin of four points among voters 65 and older, 52 percent compared to Biden's 48 percent in 2020.