On November 8, Trump won 13 percent of Muslims—an impressive take, considering Mitt Romney won just 4.4 percent of Muslims in 2012.
Considering how Trump was frequently accused of anti-Muslim bias—even calling for a ban on immigrants from heavily Muslim countries at one point during the campaign—the fact that he could increase the Republican share of Muslim voters so substantially is surprising.
But what’s even more surprising is that Trump might have even secured victory in one key swing state—simply because of his comparatively large support among Muslim voters.
In Michigan, Trump unexpectedly beat Hillary Clinton by just over 10,000 votes. Michigan is one of the most heavily Muslim states in the country, home to more than 300,000 Arabs.
Because Trump tripled Romney’s totals among Muslim voters, they likely made the difference in the key swing state—putting 17 electoral votes firmly in Trump’s column.
Trump, despite the liberal left’s claims of racism, won substantially more support among minority groups than Romney won in 2012. And it’s clear that many of them—even Muslims—may have been a key part of Trump’s victory.
