After months of campaigning in the United States, an election dropout, and assassination attempts, Americans have cast their ballots to decide who will take over the White House for the next four years.
Election results had been called in all but four states by Wednesday morning, with former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump pulling off a stunning repeat of his 2016 election victory, proving many pundits wrong.
With votes still being counted, Trump is also on track to become the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote, set to become the 47th US president in January.
In a victory speech early Wednesday before a crowd of delighted supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump gave a nod to the attempt against his life in July, suggesting his presidency was divinely ordained.
“Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason. And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness,” he told the audience at his Election Night party.
His victory was not confirmed until a few hours later at 5:30am local time when he captured the battleground state of Wisconsin.
Republicans also celebrated the Senate’s flip to Republican control and appear likely to maintain their hold on the House of Representatives, though this has not yet been determined with votes still being counted in some key races in California.
His Democratic counterpart, Vice President Kamala Harris, cancelled an appearance at her own tearful election night event at Howard University in Washington DC.
She called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate the Republican leader on his presidential election win, two aides to Harris said.
Harris, who is scheduled to make public remarks later on Wednesday, also “discussed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans,” a senior Harris aide said.
President Joe Biden also plans to call Trump and will speak publicly about the election results, NBC News reported, citing a White House official.
How does the Electoral College map look?
With 292 Electoral College votes projected in his favour so far, Trump has surpassed the 270-mark that a candidate needs to win. Harris is projected to have won 224 Electoral College votes so far and has more than 67 million votes (47.5 percent of the popular vote) overall. Trump, by contrast, has won more than 72 million votes (51 percent of the popular vote) so far.
The Associated Press (AP) has called 28 states for Trump, including solidly Republican states and the swing states of Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Votes were still being counted in several states, including Arizona and Nevada.
Among all the red states called, Texas has the highest number of Electoral seats at 40, followed by Florida with 30. While Trump also won in Nebraska, he split the state’s two Electoral College votes with Harris.
Only 17 states have been called for Harris, including California where she previously served as attorney general, and New York. She is also projected to win the District of Columbia, which is not a state but has three Electoral College votes. California has 54 Electoral College votes, the highest of any state.
What was Election Day like?
Voting proceeded smoothly in most areas, though some states saw long lines.
There were software glitches in Pennsylvania, protests against US funding of Israel’s war in New York, and bomb threats in Georgia. The FBI deemed the threats, which delayed voting in some counties, to be not credible and likely the work of Russian election interference. Several states, including Georgia and Arizona, took extra security measures to protect voting places.
Arab, Muslim, and progressive voters said they faced a tough choice between two candidates both seen as unsympathetic to Palestine.
Even across the world, from Gaza to Iran, people watched the election intently.
In Thulasendrapuram in southern India – a tiny village where Harris’s grandfather was born – residents gathered to pray for the Democratic candidate to become the first US leader with South Asian roots.
What was Kamala Harris up to on Election Day?
Both candidates spent Election Day urging their supporters to get in line, stay in line, and cast their ballots.
Harris spent part of the day calling radio stations to encourage her supporters to vote. “We’ve got to get it done. Today is voting day, and people need to get out and be active,” CNN quoted Harris as telling one radio station in Georgia.
She also visited the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC, where she held phone banks with volunteers.
What was Donald Trump up to on Election Day?
Trump addressed the media after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, saying he feels “very confident” about his election odds.
“It looks like Republicans have shown up in force,” Trump said. “We’ll see how it turns out.”
He added, “I hear we’re doing very well.”
Florida also voted on six constitutional amendments, rejecting measures to legalise recreational use of marijuana and protection of abortion rights.
When first asked how he voted on the state’s abortion measure, Trump deflected, saying he had done “a great job bringing it back to the states”. This referenced his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices who in 2022 helped overturn Roe v Wade – which made abortion a right nationally.
When pressed again, he snapped, telling the reporter to “stop talking about that”.
What’s next in the election?
Two states have yet to be called by AP while most official results are yet to be determined by a lengthy legal process.
If the results are officially confimed Trump is set to return to the White House on January 20, 2025, in a position of greater strength than he enjoyed during his previous administration from 2017-2021.
Here are some of the key takeways from Tuesday’s election.