Lagatar24 Desk
Washington: As the race to the U.S. presidency reaches its final stages, former President Donald Trump has secured a strong lead in five of the seven key swing states that are poised to decide the election outcome against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. According to projections by AP as of 9 am IST, Trump has won North Carolina with 50.8% of the vote, securing 2,571,258 votes, while Harris garnered 48.1%, or 2,436,454 votes.
Currently, Trump is also leading in Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan, though by narrow margins. Votes are still being counted in Nevada, with no early projections available yet.
Harris had initially led the vote count in Pennsylvania; however, Trump has since overtaken her, now holding a slim lead of about two percentage points.
To win the presidency, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes, and Trump’s performance in the swing states has brought him close to this threshold. Trump’s victories include traditionally red states like Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, alongside a significant win in Texas (40 electoral votes) and Ohio (17 electoral votes).
On the Democratic side, Kamala Harris has maintained her hold in strongholds like New York (28 votes), Illinois (19 votes), and New Jersey (14 votes), in addition to other northeastern states, as well as Colorado and Washington, D.C.
Swing State Snapshot
In Georgia, which holds 16 electoral votes, Trump leads Harris by 5.7 percentage points with 66% of votes counted, showing a strong inclination towards the former President. Pennsylvania, another pivotal state with 20 electoral votes, remains too close to call, though Trump has taken a narrow lead as vote counting continues.
Collectively, these swing states offer a total of 93 electoral votes. With 230 electoral votes already in his tally, Trump could surpass the necessary 270 if he maintains his lead in the remaining swing states. Harris, on the other hand, would need to sweep Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to secure victory, but Trump’s lead in these battlegrounds makes it an uphill battle for her.
Harris’s win in California, a Democratic bastion with the highest contribution of electoral votes (54), would bring her closer but may not be enough if Trump continues his dominance in the swing states.
