Election 2024: Trump Wins Key States, Harris Secures Vermont as Battleground States Remain Too Close to Call

WASHINGTON: The Associated Press projected additional victories for Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Kamala Harris on Tuesday as election results continued to come in.

Trump claimed early victories in Indiana and Kentucky, two Midwestern states, while Harris secured Vermont. As polls closed in key battleground states, including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and several others, Trump accumulated 95 Electoral College votes compared to Harris’ 35.

The Associated Press further reported that Trump won in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee, while Harris captured Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Polls continued to close at regular intervals, with the final polls in Hawaii closing at midnight Eastern Time (0500 GMT), followed by Alaska at 1 a.m. (0600 GMT). With voting now concluded in many states, the race is expected to come down to seven crucial battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. The outcomes in these states are still too close to call, with results falling within the margin of error in polling.

Both candidates spent their final campaign days in these battleground states, with Harris hosting rallies in Pennsylvania on Monday and Trump holding a late-night rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Given the narrow margins in these pivotal states, it is unlikely that major media outlets will declare a winner on Tuesday night, as was the tradition before the 2020 elections.

The Electoral College System

In the U.S., the president is not directly elected by popular vote but through the Electoral College, where each state’s electors cast ballots based on their state’s results. There are 538 electoral votes, and a candidate needs 270 votes to secure the presidency.

States allocate electors based on population, with most states using a winner-takes-all approach, except for Nebraska and Maine, which allocate electors by both the state’s popular vote and the vote outcomes in congressional districts.

Control of Congress Also at Stake

In addition to the presidential race, control of Congress is up for grabs. Voters are deciding the composition of the next U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

34 Senate seats are up for election. As one-third of Senate seats are contested every two years, some key races are still too close to call, including in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all currently held by Democrats.

The Republicans are slightly favoured to regain control of the Senate, but any victory will likely result in a razor-thin majority. Due to procedural rules, parties typically need 60 votes to pass major legislation, even if they hold a 50-vote majority.

All 435 House seats are also up for election, and most forecasts predict that the House will be nearly evenly split. Several dozen competitive districts will determine which party gains control of the lower chamber.

State and Local Races

At the state and local levels, voters are deciding on various initiatives, including school board elections and state-level ballot measures that can affect major legal decisions. Additionally, 11 gubernatorial races are also being contested across the country.

As results continue to roll in, attention is fixed on how these elections will shape the presidency and Congress. Outcomes in several states are expected to remain in flux until all ballots are counted.