--- title: Donald Trump: See a Map That Shows How He Won description: President-elect Donald Trump’s surprising victory on Nov. 8 stemmed from massive surge in Republican voters throughout the Rust Belt. canonical: https://time.com/4587866/donald-trump-election-map/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-01T18:42:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:44:55.079Z article:section: Politics og:title: See a Map That Shows Exactly Why Trump Won og:description: He snagged 220 counties that voted for Obama in 2012. og:url: https://time.com/4587866/donald-trump-election-map/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18670b697eca3e8/6988b0490b72e3ff6a6ebeb4/political-map.jpg?branch=production&width=757&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 757 og:image:height: 426 og:image:alt: political-map og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See a Map That Shows Exactly Why Trump Won twitter:description: He snagged 220 counties that voted for Obama in 2012. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18670b697eca3e8/6988b0490b72e3ff6a6ebeb4/political-map.jpg?branch=production&width=757&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See a Map That Shows Exactly How Donald Trump Won > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=6eb5bdd8-5f18-4261-adbb-11a4266cac2c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=6eb5bdd8-5f18-4261-adbb-11a4266cac2c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=6eb5bdd8-5f18-4261-adbb-11a4266cac2c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Chris Wilson](https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/) Dec 1, 2016 6:42 PM UTC by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Chris Wilson](https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/) Dec 1, 2016 6:42 PM UTC President-elect[ Donald Trump](http://time.com/4587890/donald-trump-speech-carrier-plant-indiana/)’s surprising [victory ](http://time.com/4565029/iraq-soldiers-mosul-donald-trump/)on Nov. 8 stemmed from massive surge in Republican voters throughout the [Rust Belt](http://time.com/4564440/donald-trump-wins-2/). A TIME analysis of county-level results show stunning shifts in Trump’s favor through the upper Midwest and Northeast, demonstrating the success of his trade and economic message in the nation’s heartland. Meanwhile former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took advantage of Trump’s weakness with traditional Republicans to make gains largely in urban coastal centers. The one exception: the mountain states, where growing Hispanic populations and Mormon distaste for Trump provided some of the sharpest swings for the Democrats. Of the 3,112 counties for which there is county-level data, 2,728 shifted toward the GOP, 383 shifted Democratic, and 1—Barrow County, Georgia—stayed exactly the same. The counties where Clinton gained on Obama occurred in much larger counties, where a median of 75,554 people showed up to vote in 2016\. The median for the 2,728 Republican-gaining counties is 9,905. Shifts in partisan preference do not necessarily mean the county swapped its overall support from one party to the other. While Trump received considerably less support than Mitt Romney in Utah, for example, he still managed to win 27 of 29 counties in the reliably Republican state. Overall, he won 2,622 predominantly small counties while Clinton won 490, most of which were much more populous. (Those figures may shift very slightly since some states take a long time to certify their results.) Still, the shifts were large enough for a number of pickups. At present count, Trump snagged 220 counties that voted for President Obama in 2012, while Clinton poached 17 that went for Mitt Romney. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4587866/donald-trump-election-map/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4587866/donald-trump-election-map/"},"headline":"See a Map That Shows Exactly How Donald Trump Won","datePublished":"2016-12-01T18:42:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:44:55.079Z","description":"President-elect Donald Trump’s surprising victory on Nov. 8 stemmed from massive surge in Republican voters throughout the Rust Belt.","url":"https://time.com/4587866/donald-trump-election-map/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2016 Election","White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18670b697eca3e8/6988b0490b72e3ff6a6ebeb4/political-map.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Chris Wilson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18670b697eca3e8/6988b0490b72e3ff6a6ebeb4/political-map.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"political-map","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4587866/donald-trump-election-map/","name":"See a Map That Shows Exactly How Donald Trump Won"}}]}] ```