Final Results Show Clinton Won Popular Vote By Over 2.86 Million, Or 2.1 Percent

Margin Is 2nd-Largest In History For Losing Candidate

With results all but final, Democrat Hillary Clinton is leading Republican Donald Trump in the popular vote by more than 2.86 million — which would be the second-largest margin of victory for any candidate who went on to lose the Electoral College. 

Clinton’s raw vote total — 65,788,567 — is also the third-highest of any presidential candidate in history, behind only President Barack Obama’s in 2008 and 2012. 

Meanwhile, Trump received the sixth-lowest percentage out of 49 presidents elected since 1824, the first year the popular vote was recored.

Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan outlet that’s been tracking popular vote results, said this week that the final result is likely to be Clinton with 48.2 percent, followed by Trump with 46.1 percent. Wasserman added that he didn’t anticipate any major changes in the results.

The Inquisitr notes that “despite the fact that Trump appears certain to become the 45th president of the United States, Clinton’s popular vote margin appears to negate claims by Trump and his supporters that he has claimed an electoral “mandate,” — a term used to indicate broad popular support for an incoming president’s policy platform.” 

The Electoral College votes Monday. If all electors vote according to state results, Trump will win 306-232.