Presidential election: Trump projected to flip Georgia, take North Carolina

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Presidential election: Trump projected to flip Georgia, take North Carolina

1 of 6 | Voters cast their ballots in the 2024 Presidential Election on Election Day at the Robious Elementary School in Midlothian, Va., on Tuesday. More than 78 million voters have already cast their ballot, either by mail or in person, in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Polls across the continental United States have closed for the presidential election as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump seek the 270 electoral college votes needed to become the next president.

Polls closed in 15 states at 9 p.m. EST, including swing states Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin. Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin account for a combined 36 electoral college votes. Early projections held to the form of the 2020 election, but that changed early Wednesday, when the battleground state of Georgia flipped from Democrat to Republican. Advertisement

Trump is projected to win the southern state — which President Joe Biden retook from the the New York real estate mogul in the 2020 election by some 12,000 ballots — along with its 16 electoral votes, according to CNN, CBS and ABC. The news agencies also projected that the former president picked up the battleground state of North Carolina, as well as Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and South Carolina. Advertisement

Like Georgia, North Carolina awards 16 electoral college votes. Trump is also projected to win in Ohio, Iowa, West Virginia, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Kentucky, according to NBC News, CNN and CBS News.

North Carolina is considered a battleground state, ripe for close contests in presidential elections. But it has been won by Republican candidates in the last three general elections. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter are the only Democratic candidates to win the state since 1968, with Obama winning it once in 2008.

Harris is set to win Colorado, Delaware, Vermont, New Mexico, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, CNN, NBC News and ABC News are reporting.

Massachusetts and Indiana each have 11 electoral college votes. Maryland awards 10 electoral college votes.

West Coast polls began to close at 11 p.m. EST, with California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho beginning to report.

CNN, ABC and CBS are projecting Harris to win California shortly after the polls have closed. California has the most electoral college votes at stake of any state with 54. NBC, ABC and CNN are also projecting her to win Oregon and its eight electoral college votes, as well as Washington and its 12 votes. Advertisement

Trump has sowed doubt in the election process again during his campaign for the White House. On Tuesday, he alleged cheating was occurring in Philadelphia hours before the first polls closed.

Trump’s claims follow a similar trend to what was seen in 2020. Months of unfounded claims of voter fraud and ballot dumps culminated in a riot at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. The former president has continued to cry foul throughout his third campaign for president.

“A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia,” Trump wrote. “Law Enforcement coming!!!”

Seth Bluestein, a Republican and city commissioner of Philadelphia, shot down Trump’s claim shortly after it was posted.

“There is absolutely no truth to this allegation,” Bluestein wrote on X. “It is yet another example of disinformation. Voting in Philadelphia has been safe and secure.”

The closing time for more than 10 polling locations in Georgia, including five in Fulton County, was extended after non-credible threats caused polling locations to evacuate temporarily. There have been about 30 bomb threats made against polling locations across the country on Election Day, including a voting services building in Pennsylvania. That location in West Chester is being searched by bomb-sniffing dogs Tuesday night. There was also a threat to a polling site in Arizona. Advertisement

The Federal Bureau of Investigations released a statement saying many of the threats appear to be linked to Russia.

“The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” the statement said. “None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.”

Polls have closed in South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida. Former President Barack Obama tempered the expectations for election night results in a post on X, recalling the days-long ballot counting process in 2020.

“It took several days to count every ballot in 2020, and it’s very likely we won’t know the outcome tonight either,” Obama posted. “So please keep a few things in mind as you make your voice heard today: Thousands of election workers around the country are working hard today. Respect them. Thank them. Don’t share things before checking your sources. Let the process run its course. It takes time to count every ballot.”

Five states that Trump won in 2016 were won by Biden in 2020: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, helping him earn 306 electoral college votes to Trump’s 232.

Biden received more than 81.2 million votes or about 51.3% of the vote, winning the popular vote and the electoral college. Trump received about 74.2 million votes or 46.8% of the vote. Advertisement

Trump and Harris are watching the polls from locations familiar to them on election night.

The vice president is hosting an election night watch party in Washington, D.C., at her alma mater Howard University. Harris graduated from Howard in 1986. She will be joined by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The former president will be at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., with his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. The campaign is holding a watch party on Tuesday evening. The former president has held a number of events at his property.

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