Here's How Southeast Michigan Voted In The 2020 Presidential Race

MICHIGAN — Heading into Tuesday's election, some pundits said Southeast Michigan — and Macomb and Oakland counties in particular — held the key to whether the state would turn blue or stay red in the 2020 presidential election.

A day after The Associated Press, CNN and other outlets called the race, projecting the Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden as the winner in Michigan, those pundits may have been right.

Of those three significant counties, Biden carried two, racking more votes than President Donald Trump in both Oakland and Wayne counties.

Here is a look at how those counties voted in 2020 as compared to 2016.

Read More: Joe Biden Projected Winner In Michigan Over Donald Trump

Macomb County

Macomb County, Michigan's third most populous county, figured to be a key battleground in Michigan. Both candidates visited the community ahead of Election Day, with Trump holding a Make America Great Again rally in Macomb County on the preceding Sunday.

Trump's efforts seemed to pay off locally, as the president defeated Biden in the county to carry it for the second state presidential election.

Trump pulled in nearly 39,000 more votes than Biden in Macomb County, winning the county 264,535 to 225,561, according to unofficial election results provided by the Macomb County Clerk's office.

The president carried a similar percentage of the vote in 2016, when he would end up winning Macomb County and Michigan on his way to The White House. Trump defeated Clinton 224,665 to 176,317.

Fewer voters in Macomb County chose a third or independent candidate as well. In 2016, 12,862 votes went to Libertarian Gary Johnson. In 2020, Jo Jorgenson, a Libertarian, garnered only 4,473 votes.

Oakland County

Oakland County had, for years, been a polar opposite of Michigan. While the state stayed blue, Oakland County was considered a stronghold in the Midwest. But the county has steadily swayed left since the 1990s and gave Clinton a 54,000-vote win in 2016.

According to unofficial 2020 election results provided by the Oakland County Clerk's office, Biden defeated Trump in the county by more than 100,000 votes. The former vice president pulled in 438,147 votes in Oakland County, while Trump gained 328,313.

The county also went blue in 2016, when Trump ran against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, but the race was much closer. According to past election results provided by the county clerk's office and including recount totals, Trump had 231,421 votes in Oakland County in the 2016 election as opposed to Clinton's 263,487.

Wayne County

If there was any doubt about how Oakland or Macomb counties would go, Wayne County — home to Detroit — seemed like a sure thing. According to unofficial election results, not much has changed between 2020 and 2016 but Biden pulled off the win by a much wider margin in 2020 compared to 2016.

Biden pulled in 587,074 votes in Wayne County in 2020, according to unofficial election results provided by the county clerk's office. Trump, on the other hand, carried just 264,149 votes in the county.

Voters seemed to vote the same way in 2016, when 390,766 chose Clinton and 159,502 went with Trump.

A key difference in 2020 was that Biden's lead grew immensely once absentee and mail-in ballots were counted. According to unofficial election results, Biden pulled in 415,465 absentee votes in Wayne County. Trump had just 130,880. Factoring in just Election Day voting at polling locations, Trump lost by just about 40,000 votes.

Wayne County wasn't the only state that saw absentee ballots go in Biden's favor quite heavily, but it was one that caught a lot of attention after ballot challengers outside the TCF Center in Detroit where ballots were being counted reportedly became disruptive and chanted “Let us in” and “Stop the count."

Trump on social media began questioning the legitimacy of some absentee ballots. His campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said Wednesday that the campaign was filing a lawsuit demanding to review ballots that were opened and counted while the campaign did not have access.

"As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be," Bill Stepien, Trump's campaign manager said in a statement. "President Trump's campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.

"President Trump is committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in Michigan and everywhere else."