Editor's Note: Each year DTN publishes our choices for the Top 10 ag news stories of the year as selected by DTN analysts, editors and reporters. This year, we're counting them down from Dec. 18 to Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, we will look at some of the runners-up for this year. Today, we continue the countdown with No. 3: the wild election season, which started with a rematch of the two oldest candidates in history, an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Joe Biden dropping out late in the race, Kamala Harris stepping in, and then a stronger-than-anticipated rural vote that helped put Trump back in White House.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- President-elect Donald Trump's presidential win was a historic reversal of fortune considering the turmoil before and after Trump left the White House in 2021.

Trump, 78, is the oldest person to be elected president in history, beating out current President Joe Biden, who was 77 when he defeated Trump in 2020. Trump also became the first president since Grover Cleveland in the 1890s to win non-consecutive terms.

There was a little drama at the start of 2024 in the primaries. The race was going to be Biden versus Trump again, barring some remarkable circumstances. Biden had no real competition on the Democratic side. For Republicans, Trump easily swept aside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, now a Trump advisor. Trump officially clinched the GOP nomination in early March.

Throughout the year, drama and heavy news coverage followed Trump across the country. Even as the Republican frontrunner, Trump faced court appearances and charges in New York and Georgia. In May, Trump was convicted by a jury in New York of 34 felony counts tied to using hush money to pay off a porn actress before the 2016 election.

While the election initially involved the two oldest candidates in history, Biden's age, at 81, became a glaring risk for Democrats, especially after a poor debate against Trump in late June. By mid-July, the Democratic base had pressed Biden to step aside for Vice President Kamala Harris to run. Harris became the first Black woman nominated by a major party to run for president.

Another major event happened at a mid-July rally in Pennsylvania when Trump was slightly wounded in an assassination attempt that killed one spectator and wounded two others. Trump's supporters rallied around the video and photos of Trump, slightly bloodied, raising his fist in defiance.

Just a day after the shooting, Trump announced on Truth Social he had picked Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance to be his running mate. Vance, 40, who had been elected to the Senate in 2022, will become the youngest vice president since Richard Nixon when he is sworn-in next month.

Harris' campaign injected needed enthusiasm for Democrats. Seeing a weakness in the party, Harris tapped Gov. Tim Walz in an attempt to chip away at Trump's support among Midwest and rural votes. Walz attended rallies wearing a flannel shirt and ballcap. The Harris-Walz campaign rolled out an agenda for rural America that included boosting credit to farmers and investing more in conservation practices. Radio ads featuring Walz ran across the battleground states.

While there was an array of issues throughout the campaign, Trump would often mention farmers at rallies. In Pennsylvania, Trump said, "our farmers aren't being treated properly." He added, "The farmers in this country, we're going to get them straightened out."

Farmers throughout the campaign, especially near the end, raised concerns about Trump's plans for tariffs as well as how mass deportation plans could wreck a lot of labor-intensive farm operations. Still, farmers overwhelmingly back Trump.

The DTN/Progressive Farmer Pulse of Rural America poll, conducted in late August-early September, showed Trump with just under 70% support among rural Americans while Harris carried just 19% at the time.

The poll also showed frustration among farmers over the economy, inflation, regulations and interest rates. One young livestock producer from Nebraska pointed out how much more expensive operating loans had become compared to Trump's time in office.

The Pulse of Rural America poll, however, didn't quite match up with national polls at the time showing the presidential race was close.

A late shocker came just before Election Day when the Des Moines Register poll indicated Harris had a slight lead over Trump. That poll, now the subject of a lawsuit from Trump, ended up being way off as Trump carried 56% of the vote in Iowa. Trump got more than 70% of the vote in more than 40 rural Iowa counties.

Looking at the numbers, the popular vote nationally was close. Trump defeated Harris 49.9% to 48.4%, or a 1.5% margin. But Trump swept the battleground states in the process -- Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin all went Trump's way.

While people expected a long time to declare a winner, it was apparent in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 6 that Trump had won re-election.

Trump quickly began naming Cabinet members. He has selected former advisor Brooke Rollins to serve as his agriculture secretary.

An agent of chaos on social media throughout his first term, Trump and his team have already re-established that pattern. Trump has threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico over border issues. Just last week as Congress was trying to close out the year and pass a funding bill and an extension of the farm bill, Trump weighed in repeatedly demanding Republicans make changes to the bill. Trump advisor Elon Musk, now listed as the world's richest man, also used his social platform to primary both Republicans and Democrats who vote against Trump's wishes.

Inauguration Day is Jan. 20, 2025.

For related stories, see:

-- "The Pulse of Rural America," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Trump Names Policy Leader Brooke Rollins As Agriculture Secretary in Next Administration," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

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More countdown stories:

-- See No. 10 story, "2024 Was Year of Labor Unrest at US and Canada Rail and Shipping Ports," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- See No. 9 story, "'Over-the-Top' Dicamba Product Registrations Vacated," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- See No. 8 story, "Record-High Prices Rippled Through the Cattle Market in 2024," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- See No. 7 story, "EPA Advanced Plans in 2024 to Meet Endangered Species Obligations for Pesticides," https://www.dtnpf.com/….

-- See No. 6 story, "Active Weather Pattern's Massive Impact: Megafires to Flooded Fields, Flash Drought to Hurricane Fatalities," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- See No. 5 story,"H5N1 Detected in Dairy Cattle for the First Time," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- See No. 4 story, "Farmland Market's Resilience Shines in Face of Interest Rate, Farm Income Concerns," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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