Inflation, Immigration or Abortion Rights: What went wrong for Kamala Harris?

Despite a massive election campaign focused on abortion rights, Democrat Kamala Harris failed to become America's first woman president as she did not get the number of women voters she expected.

Donald Trump swept the 2024 presidential election to re-enter the White House.

But apart from women voters, there are a few other factors that contributed to Harris' failure in this election.

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Inflation & Immigration - The twin issues

Harris’ campaign ultimately failed to overcome deep-seated voter concerns about inflation and immigration, twin issues that opinion polls showed favoured Trump.

The vice president's loss underscores a profound shift in American politics over the past decade as blue-collar voters have turned increasingly Republican, a trend Trump appears to have accelerated.

"A lot of her policies did not connect. She kept saying stuff about the middle class. But Trump, for me at least, was a lot better suited for the middle class than she was. She tried to connect pretty well, but Trump did a whole lot better," said 19-year-old mechanic Ben Thurkettle, who supports Trump.

For David Gates, 44, a tree care worker and registered independent, it all came down to the economy.

"The fact is, Donald Trump, when he left office the last time, left us in a better economy," he said.

Millwork company employee Fred Roberts, 33, hopes for lower inflation and better prices for construction materials under Trump.

"Harris wasn't very clear on really anything," he said. "I think that Trump is very clear that they have to start being more competitive on a global scale and then start bringing manufacturing back to America."

Harris made history as the first woman of colour at the top of a major party ticket.

Artist Tom Ter Haar, 53, said he thinks Harris' race was a factor in the election, but also wondered why Harris talked so much in the campaign about what she would do as president, while she held power serving as vice president.

"Kamala is like, if I'm president, I'll do this, this, this, this. It's like, sign a damn, you're f***ing vice president, sign a goddamn executive order like Trump is going to do," Ter Haar said.

Trump was announced as the winner of the Michigan presidential race on Wednesday, taking back the battleground state and its 15 electoral votes, which swung to President Joe Biden in 2020.

In an ad financed by a progressive Christian group, and narrated by Oscar winner Julia Roberts, a woman is shown voting for Harris -- and hiding it from her Trump-leaning spouse.

"In the one place in America where women still have a right to choose, you can vote any way you want, and no one will ever know," Roberts says.

"Did you make the right choice?" the husband asks his wife, who responds: "Sure did, honey," exchanging a smile and a wink with another woman voter.

"That was an appealing idea, but now we know it's pretty much just wishful thinking," said Alex Keena, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University.

For Karim, "gender dynamics are not limited to women, but what masculine appeal Trump has for a diverse range of men."

Exit polls showed that Trump got a boost from Latino voters, while Biden had largely beaten him with that part of the electorate four years ago.

(With inputs from agencies)