When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency on June 16, 2015, virtually no one expected him to emerge from a field of 17 Republicans to win the party's nomination. In fact, some thought the business mogul and reality TV star was in it for publicity to enhance the Trump brand.

Despite accomplishing the primary-election stunner, few gave him a prayer to topple Democrat Hillary Clinton, especially after he said and did things which would have instantly sunk the campaigns of mere mortal candidates.Today, after one of the most contentious campaigns in U.S. history, the improbable happened, confounding the so-called experts and most of the pollsters: Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States.Trump supporters said they liked their candidate's straightforward talk without regard for political correctness. This was coupled with their extreme distaste for Clinton's lack of trustworthiness and her inability to connect with angry middle-class voters.As for Clinton, the prize that eluded her eight years ago when she lost the Democratic primary to Barack Obama has slipped from her grasp again. In 2008 and again this year, she was the odds-on favorite to become the first woman to break the glass ceiling of the presidency. At age 69, her time has come and gone.Trump's revenge after being humiliated at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2011 by President Obama must be sweet indeed. He vowed to his inner-circle associates that he wanted to be taken seriously, not seen as a joke or a punch line. He is having the last laugh as he will become the 45th president of the United States.Trump's message of "Make America Great Again" was embraced by a large swath of disillusioned rural and suburban voters who responded with gusto to his claims that the system is "rigged" against them, unsympathetic to their needs, and that the country is going in the wrong direction. These disaffected Americans turned out in record numbers to give the middle finger to the Washington establishment, the media and the political elite.How Trump will approach the task of bringing the country together after such a fractious election is problematic, especially if he follows through on his campaign threats to build a wall on our southern border with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants and adopts policies to ban immigration from countries which may be breeding grounds for terrorists.With a Republican-controlled Congress that may give him more support than it gave Obama during his eight years, Trump could be in a position to deliver on some of his key promises of dismantling Obamacare, improving the economy, repealing some trade agreements which would make the U.S. less global and more inward looking, and rethinking the nuclear agreement with Iran.He also will be able to fill the all-important vacant U.S. Supreme Court seat and any others during his term with nominees who are philosophically attuned to his policies. Don't forget, however, that both Republican House and Senate leaders on Capitol Hill held Trump at arm's length during the campaign. Trump offended and attacked some congressional Republicans on the stump, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose job may be in jeopardy.Trump came out on top in three of the five counties in the Times News area - Carbon, 65 to 31 percent, Schuylkill, 70 to 27 percent and Northampton, 50 to 45 percent. Clinton was favored in Lehigh, 51 to 46 percent and in Monroe, 50 to 48 percent.The stock market acted predictably by tanking on the news of Trump's election, at one point down even more than it had been after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. The markets quickly stabilized, however.It will be interesting to see whether Trump follows through on his promise to continue an investigation into "Crooked Hillary's" use of a private server for sending and receiving government emails while she was secretary of state.The anticipated Democratic takeover of the U.S. Senate never materialized. Republican incumbent Pat Toomey of Lehigh County withstood a challenge from Democrat Katie McGinty in this year's most expensive Senate race, with an estimated eye-popping $160 million spent, much of it by outside super PACs. The Democrats picked up just two Senate seats, but they needed to flip five to win control.With one exception, all local state House and state Senate incumbents won re-election handily, including Carbon County's Doyle Heffley. The Republican incumbent beat back a challenge by Democrat Neil Makhija, 59 to 39 percent in the 122nd District. In the 115th district, which includes parts of Monroe County, Democrat Maureen Madden unseated incumbent Republican David Parker, 52 to 48 percent. In the 183rd District, which includes Slatington, Walnutport and surrounding townships, Republican Zach Mako easily defeated Democrat Phillips Armstrong 58 to 42 percent to take the seat occupied by Republican Julie Harhart, who retires on Nov. 30.Statewide, voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment to raise the retirement age of judges and district magistrates from 70 to 75.The most encouraging result of Tuesday's election was voter turnout, which, despite long lines, topped 80 percent in some polling districts.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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