US election recap: Exit polls reveal who voted for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris presidency
Donald Trump has been elected President of the US for a second non-consecutive term. Recap a huge week in politics by scrolling through the posts below.
Key Events
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As election week draws to a close, so too does The Nightly’s live blog.
If you’re just joining us, feel free to scroll through the posts below to recap a huge week in world politics.
Thank you for joining us throughout the week as we witnessed an historic election result and the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Our coverage of US politics doesn’t end here though.
Stay tuned to The Nightly for all the latest news and updates on the incoming Trump Government and don’t forget to download your free edition of The Nightly every weeknight from 6pm AEDT.
Donald Trump projected to become 47th US President
Fox News has declared Donald Trump will be elected as the next President of the United States.
“The Fox News Decision Desk projects former President Trump has defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a stunning victory, delivering him a second term in the White House after a historic election cycle filled with unprecedented twists and turns and two attempts on his life,” Fox News stated.
Trump will be the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892 — and only the second in history.
All polls are now closed
All election polls are now closed, leaving voters to wait and see whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will win a historic presidential election.
Trump supporters eagerly await to hear from their candidate
Trump supporters gathered at his election night watch party were hugging one another, making calls, jumping up and down, and throwing their MAGA hats in the air every chance they got to celebrate as results continued to trickle in.
Guests are still arriving at the convention centre in West Palm Beach.
Donald Trump is expected to speak from his campaign headquarters in Florida shortly.
-- Adriana Gomez Licon, AP
Kamala Harris wins New Hampshire
Vice President Kamala Harris has won New Hampshire, continuing the state’s two-decade-long streak of awarding its four electoral votes to Democrats.
New Hampshire has backed Democrats in seven of the last eight presidential elections.
Harris’ win comes nine months after the Democratic National Committee bypassed New Hampshire as the leadoff presidential primary.
-- AP
‘Let that sink in’
Elon Musk is already boasting about gaining influence over the Federal Government during a potential Donald Trump presidency.
The billionaire has taken to his platform X, posting a photoshopped image of himself carrying a sink into the Oval Office, adding, “Let that sink in”.
It’s a reference to when he took over the social media company Twitter, now X, and began shaking up operations.
Trump has said Musk, the world’s richest man, would help him streamline government.
Harris’ path to the White House is growing less forgiving
Harris still has a path to the White House through the Northern battleground states, but the map is getting less forgiving.
Harris’ campaign has long said her surest way to 270 electoral votes was through Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states Trump won in 2016 and Biden captured narrowly in 2020.
Harris cannot lose Pennsylvania and reach 270 electoral votes. However, she can lose pieces of the blue wall — so named for its longtime reputation as a Democratic firewall — and still reach 270.
If she loses Michigan, she can make it up by winning Arizona and Nevada. She can lose Wisconsin and make up for it with Arizona.
But the map has surely shrunk for Harris, who cannot lose more than one in the three-state northern arc.
--Thomas Beaumont, AP
Trump family begins arriving at watch party
Donald Trump Jr. is now shaking hands with supporters and pumping his fists in the air.
Harris won’t speak to the public tonight
Kamala Harris will not speak to crowds at Howard University tonight.
“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet,” campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond said.
Richmond said Harris would return to Howard “not only to address her supporters but to address the nation.”
“We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken. So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight but you will hear from her tomorrow.”
Trump projected to win Georgia
Former President Donald Trump will win the key battleground state of Georgia, CNN projects. It’s the second crucial swing state Trump is projected to win, with a victory already called for North Carolina.
There are 16 electoral votes at stake in Georgia. Georgia flipped blue for the first time in nearly 30 years when Joe Biden won by just 11,779 votes.
There are still five battleground states to be called, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada remain too close or too early to call.
Republicans win control of the Senate
Republicans have won control of the US Senate, retaking the chamber for the first time in four years.
It gives the party a major power centre in Washington and a leading role in confirming the next president’s Cabinet, as well as any Supreme Court justice if there is a vacancy.
Control over the House of Representatives is still up for grabs, with over 100 races yet to be called.
-- AP
