How did Kamala Harris lose this election?

The 2024 election looks eerily similar to 2016's, when former secretary of state Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump despite being the favourite going into the race.

- Lin Suling

Which begs the question: Can a woman never hope to be US president?

Former president Trump did the impossible in winning the presidency. Republicans have also won control of the Senate and appear to have the upper hand in the House race, at press time on Nov 6.

This election was truly a gendered election. Ms Harris had a 10-point advantage with women - 54 per cent, to Trump's 44 per cent - with the figures flipped when it came to men, according to ABC News preliminary exit poll data released on Nov 6.

Mrs Clinton had lost the election in 2016 for a plethora of reasons, including Russian disinformation, a damaging Federal Bureau of Investigation probe regarding her e-mail servers and complacency over the Rust Belt states.

But at the heart of it, she was seen as cold, calculated and unlikeable - although many pointed out that the bar was unfairly higher for her because she was a woman. In comparison, Trump could get away with the most outrageous, misogynistic comments.

Still, it would not be accurate to chalk Ms Harris' dismal results up to a deep-seated sexist belief that a woman can never be US president.