Story highlights Clinton lost the Electoral College solidly

Trump once criticized the Electoral College though he now lauds it

Washington (CNN) Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote is now nearing 2 million votes, approaching the milestone as the campaign begins to hear from scientists who want to see a recount in several states.

Clinton lost the Electoral College solidly , and the climbing popular vote spread doesn't change anything about who will hold power in Washington.

But some Clinton aides and allies have pointed to the gap as a reason to doubt any mandate that President-elect Donald Trump may draw from his victory on Election Day.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, Clinton leads Trump by 1.82 million votes, 63,964,956 to 62,139,188, according to preliminary figures.

Clinton's loss on November 8 was largely due to underperfomance in a trio of Rust Belt states, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

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