Agencies
After an unprecedented campaign amid a resurgent pandemic, polls have finally started to close in the United States. Donald Trump and Joe Biden are splitting the traditional strongholds in early results. Battleground states, which may hold the key to the White House are up for grabs.
Trump has won Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming, Indiana and South Carolina.
On the other hand, Biden has taken Democratic leaning states like Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico New York, Rhode Island Vermont and Virginia.
The key battleground states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas are still too close to call.
Here are the latest updates:
– Trump bags Kansas’ 6 electoral votes.
This was not a surprise as the state has been voting for Republicans for years. In 2016, Trump had taken this Republican stronghold with 56% votes.
– Trump and Biden in a close fight in Texas
There’s a really close fight underway for Texas, with both Trump and Biden securing 49 per cent of the vote. Trump appears to be just a little ahead of Biden in the key battleground state. The state has 38 electoral votes.
– Donald Trump has won South Carolina with 456,360 votes, according to NYT. The seat has nine electoral votes. In 2016 also, Trump carried the Red state with 54.9% of the vote. Republicans have only lost South Carolina once since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, in 1976.
– Joe Biden has won Colorado, which has nine electoral votes. In 2016, Hillary Clinton carried the state of Colorado. He also won the District of Columbia, which has 3 electoral votes. The win was expected as DC has never elected a Republican candidate.
– Even as Trump campaign claimed Florida, the US media said the competition was too close to call.
– Donald Trump has taken Nebraska, Louisiana, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota. Joe Biden, meanwhile, has won New Mexico, in latest projections put out by AP.
– CNN Projects a Trump win South Dakota. There are three electoral votes at stake in South Dakota. In 2016, Trump had carried the state
– Biden projected to win New York . Trump who calls himself a lifelong New Yorker lost to Hillary Clinton in 2016 as well.
– US Senate Republican leader McConnell wins reelection
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky won reelection ensuring that the most powerful Republican in Congress will remain in the chamber for another six years, reported AFP.
– Trump retains Alabama. In 2016 as well, Donald Trump won the election in Alabama with 62.08% of the vote.
– Trump retains Mississippi. Mississippi has not voted Democratic since 1976 and so Trump was widely expected to win the state. Trump won the election in 2016 in Mississippi with 57.86% of the vote.
– Trump retains Arkansas. In 2016 as well Trump won the state with 60.57% of the vote even though Bill Clinton had been the Governor of Arkansas for 12 years.
– Biden wins in Illinois and Rhode Island, reported AFP based on US media projections.
– Polls have closed in Florida. With 29 electoral college votes,Florida is the largest swing state in America and has always been so. The margin of victory in the state has been very low and Trump won in this state in 2016 with 49% of the total votes as opposed to Clinton’s 47.8%; only by 1.2 percentage points.
– According to the news agency AP, voter turnout for the 2020 presidential election was massive. However, it didn’t come close to the record that was set in 1876, when 81.8 percent of eligible voters went to the polls.
– Joe Biden has won in Connecticut, reported AFP quoting US media.
– While Joe Biden has won New Jersey, Tennessee has voted for Trump, reports AFP quoting US networks.
– Joe Biden has won his home state Delaware, says AFP. He is also projected to win Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. Donald Trump is projected to win Oklahoma.
– Voting will close in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Tennessee at 6.30am IST.
– Joe Biden is expected to win in Maine and Vermont, according to the projections of the US media.
– The incumbent president now has 19 electoral college votes and Biden 13. The magic number is 270.
– Donald Trump has won West Virginia, while Joe Biden has won in Virginia, AFP reported
– Donald Trump has won the traditionally Republican-leaning states of Kentucky and Joe Biden has won the state of Vermont.
– Polls have closed in North Carolina (15 electoral votes), Ohio (18 electoral votes), and West Virginia (5 electoral votes).
– All eyes are on Georgia. It has been a comfortable state to win for the Republican Party in all but two presidential elections since 1960.
-According to news agency AFP quoting US networks, Donald Trump has won Indiana (also home to Vice-President Mike Pence) and Vermont. He is also set to win Kentucky, according to projections by US news media.
– Polls have closed in Georgia, the rest of Indiana and Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.
