Hillary Clinton is now 1.3 million votes ahead of Donald Trump
Even as Election Day 2016 inches ever farther into the rearview, votes are still being counted in several states as absentee and mail-in ballots reach vote-tallying facilities. And while President-elect Donald Trump clinched a decisive victory over Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8, with a likely 306 electoral votes (Michigan's 16 electoral votes haven't been officially appropriated yet) to Clinton's 232, the popular vote has yet to be decided — but Clinton's lead keeps growing.
On the night of the election, Trump's sweeping victories in several key battleground states — including ones mostly wrested from Democratic control in 2012 — carried him to victory, thanks to their crucial influence on the all-important Electoral College. But even last Tuesday it was apparent Clinton would likely carry the popular vote — that is, more individual ballots were cast for her. As Dave Wasserman noted at The Cook Political Report, Clinton's popular vote lead over Trump as of Thursday morning was up to 1.3 million:
Cook County, IL: 15k new Clinton votes, 5k Trump. Clinton popular vote lead up to 1.34 million: https://t.co/j58GaxfPmH
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 17, 2016
Clinton is the second candidate in five elections to lose the presidency while winning the popular vote, after Democrat Al Gore was defeated by Republican George W. Bush in 2000 despite winning the national total by more than 500,000 votes. See the full breakdown of the 2016 popular vote here, courtesy of The Cook Political Report.