Hillary Clinton set to win popular vote even as she’s lost the presidency


Hillary Clinton is likely to become the fifth presidential candidate in American history to win the popular vote but lose the White House.

In the most recent tally, Clinton held a tiny lead nationally after piling up a big margin in California, a staunchly Democratic state with the U.S.’s largest population. Clinton had 59.7 million votes to 59.5 million for Trump. And Clinton’s lead in California is expected to grow, with just two-thirds of the state’s voted having been counted.

The last time a president won election while losing the nationwide popular vote was in 2000, when George W. Bush eked out a controversial win in the Electoral College over Al Gore Jr. The scenario had previously played out in 1888, 1876 and 1824.

Clinton racked up big margins in several large states, especially New York and California, to pad her vote total. Yet Trump appeared to have won at least 30 of the 50 states, not including the District of Columbia. In many cases, Trump won by small margins.

In California, meanwhile, Clinton captured more than 61% of the vote, with two-third reported, giving her a 2.5 million–vote margin.

As a result, she had laid claim to 47.7% of the national vote vs. 45.5% for Trump.

The loss for Clinton despite winning the popular vote is likely to renew calls for the abolition of the Electoral College, a body established by the U.S. Constitution. Calls for such an action over the years have gone unheeded and are likely to do so again.