US election results: Donald Trump elected 47th US president

What will a second Trump term look like? Here’s Daniel Geary with his analysis. Daniel Geary: Next four years of a Trump presidency won’t be as bad as the first four – they will be worse https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/11/07/next-four-years-of-a-trump-presidency-wont-be-as-bad-as-the-first-four-they-will-be-worse/
Kamala Harris tried to make abortion a wedge issue between herself and Donald Trump in the US presidential election.
The overthrowing of Roe v Wade in 2022, which had previously guaranteed a federal right to abortion in the United States, angered a lot of women in the US, but not enough to get Harris elected.
The issue was passed to the individual states, many of whom voted in draconian bans which campaigners have sought to overthrow with mixed success.
Arizona added a fundamental right to abortion to its constitution overturning a ban after 15 weeks. Colorado, Maryland, Missouri and Montana voters also enshrined a fundamental right to abortion in its constitution.
Nevada amended its constitution to allow for abortion up to birth. It’s currently at 24 weeks.
In Nebraska a fundamental right to abortion was rejected by voters. Instead, Initiative 434 makes it illegal to have an abortion after the first trimester except in cases of medical emergency, sexual assault, or incest.
Florida did not overturn its own ban after six weeks and voters in South Dakota, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in the United States, also voted to keep the state’s almost total ban on abortion.
Rory McIlroy believes Donald Trump becoming US president for the second time could help “clear the way” for a peace deal in golf’s civil war.
The four-time Major winner also said the potential involvement of Elon Musk, a supporter of Trump and the owner of social media platform X, could speed up the process.
Talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf, have been ongoing since the signing of a framework agreement in June 2023.
McIlroy said in September that a 50-50 split between players on both sides, along with the US department of justice, represented the biggest obstacles to a deal, with the DOJ having already forced a non-solicitation clause to be removed from the framework agreement.
The story is here. https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/golf/2024/11/06/rory-mcilroy-backs-donald-trump-and-elon-musk-to-secure-peace-deal-in-golfs-civil-war/
The election of Donald Trump may mean the end of almost 140 years of continuity between the Kennedy family and the Democratic Party.
Trump is a big admirer of Robert F Kennedy Jr. the son of Robert Kennedy Snr. Robert Jr caused consternation in his own family when he declared his support for Trump earlier in the campaign.
There are suggestions that Trump will make Robert F his new health secretary. This has caused alarm in America’s medical community given that Kennedy is a well-known conspiracy theorist who claims, without evidence that vaccines cause autism.
His sister Kerry told CNN that she still loves her brother, but she does not support his views on a lot of issues.
“I plan to say congratulations and good luck. I disagree with Bobby on a lot of issues. I hope the United States continues to make vaccines available to people and to our children.
“That said, I love Bobby and I love being with him. There is more at stake than me and my brother here. As Liz Cheney pointed out to assure that our institutions are kept safe and bolstered during this time.”
Would she trust him on the issues of vaccines ? she was asked. “No I don’t,” she bluntly replied. “That’s on the record and he knows that, but we live in a democracy.”
JD Vance, the next US vice president, has thanked his wife Usha Vance, Donald Trump and voters following the pair’s victory.
Briefly speaking to supporters at Palm Beach late on Tuesday night, alongside Trump, Vance described the 47th US president’s victory as “the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America”.
Vance then promised the greatest economical comeback in history under Trump’s leadership.
The US stock market has opened at a new all-time high, as investors react to Donald Trump’s stunning electoral win.
Investors are racing into riskier assets, following the Republicans’ win in the race for the White House, and their taking control of the Senate too.
Bloomberg is calling it a “face-ripping rally”. The S&P 500, the broad index of US stocks, has jumped by 1.9 per cent to a new intraday high.
The Dow Jones industrial average, of 30 large US companies, jumped by 3 per cent to 43,508 points, also hitting a record high while the tech-focused Nasdaq is slightly lagging behind in the face-ripping stakes, up 1.8 per cent.
Investors are betting that Trump’s economic policies will stimulate growth, and also inflation (as new tariffs, tax cuts and immigration curbs are all potentially inflationary). – The Guardian
See the US election night in pictures here.
The European Union is set to face a “bumpy road” over the next four years with Donald Trump returning to the White House, a former EU trade commissioner tells Jack Power.
US president-elect Trump has promised to impose tariffs of up 10-20 per cent on all goods coming into the US from Europe and elsewhere, as well as indicating he would end the Ukraine war, possibly by threatening to withdraw military and financial support for Kyiv.
Cecilia Malmstrom, who served as European commissioner for trade from 2014 to 2019, said she felt Trump would certainly move ahead with threatened tariffs. Small open economies, like Ireland, would be hit harder as big exporters to the US, she said.
Malmstrom was EU trade commissioner during Trump’s first term, when he introduced tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU, which drew retaliatory measures from Brussels.
The former Swedish politician said the EU was in for a “Trumpian few years”, given the Republicans were set to control the Senate and possibly the House of Representatives as well.
“He is very angry with Europe … He is also surrounded by a new kind of Maga supporter, the adults in the room seem to be gone,” she said.
The commission, the executive arm of the EU responsible for trade, needed to signal it was ready to “strike back” quickly if Trump levelled tariffs on imports, she said.
However, the greater fear was what would happen if the US withdrew support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, which Malmstrom said would create an “existential threat to Europe”.
One commission source said EU officials had “prepared a reaction plan for all eventualities and we’ll deploy it as necessary, starting with efforts to find common ground with the second Trump administration, where possible”.
The US embassy in London, meanwhile, has been targeted by Just Stop Oil activists, following Trump’s win.
Nothing has been said by Kamala Harris, nor her fellow prominent Democrats Joe Biden or Barack Obama since the reality of Donald Trump’s victory was made clear.
Speaking at Howard University on Tuesday night, campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond told gathered supporters that Harris would not be making a speech.
Richmond told those present that the US vice president would speak publicly on Wednesday. She is expected to address supporters early in the afternoon.
Former Republican congresswoman and Trump critic Liz Cheney, has said citizens, the courts, the press and those serving in federal, state and local governments must now be the “guardrails of democracy”.
Cheney, the daughter of former Republican vice-president Dick Cheney, endorsed Kamala Harris in September due to “danger that Donald Trump poses”.
Voters in Missouri have cleared the way to undo one of the US’s most restrictive abortion bans in one of seven victories for abortion rights advocates while Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving bans in place.
Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana.
Nevada voters also approved an amendment but they will need to pass it again it 2026 for it to take effect. Another that bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes” prevailed in New York.
A measure that allows more abortion restrictions and enshrines the state’s current 12-week ban was adopted in Nebraska and a competing one to ensure abortion rights failed. Results were still pending in Montana.
The Missouri and Florida results represent firsts in the abortion landscape, which underwent a seismic shift in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a ruling that ended a nationwide right to abortion and cleared the way for bans to take effect in most Republican-controlled states. – Associated Press
Nationalist politicians in Northern Ireland have raised concerns about the impact of Donald Trump’s election victory on the US while unionist leaders have welcomed the “decisive” result, Seanín Graham reports.
SDLP leader Claire Hanna said it was “disheartening” that Trump’s “divisive brand of politics has been so widely endorsed”.
“Donald Trump has repeatedly shown himself as someone with little respect for most people or the high office that he once again holds,” she said.
But DUP leader Gavin Robinson congratulated the 47th American president on “achieving what has rightly been described as the greatest political comeback of all time”.
“Elections can be divisive, as this election has been, but the conclusion has been decisive,” he said.
Mr Robinson expressed hope that the “ties between the US and Northern Ireland remain strong”.
“In President Trump’s last term, the door of the White House was open and indeed many regarded his presidency as one of balance and fairness regarding our own local political divisions. I trust he adopts the same approach to the 47th presidency as he did the 45th.”
Sinn Féin Stormont economy minster Conor Murphy warned that a hike in tariffs on all imports to the US – one of Trump’s campaign proposals – could adversely affect the North’s economy.
“Anything which hinders our ability to trade with a very significant trading partner is not good news, he said.
“Businesses like certainty and if the Trump presidency brings uncertainty that isn’t good news for our companies who do business in the US.”
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has joined in congratulating Trump on his victory.
While president in 2018, Trump labelled his Canadian counterpart as “dishonest” and “weak” following G7 meetings.
Europe must strengthen climate action and democracy “to counter far-right autocrats”, the European Green Party has said following Trump’s victory.
The party said Europe must become a beacon of hope and democracy, in response to the US election result, “which poses a profound challenge to global political stability, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East”.
“This is a sad and sobering morning for all progressives and democrats worldwide, including in Europe.
“With autocrats like Putin in Russia and Trump in the US in power, the European Union will have to stand on its own two feet in terms of support for Ukraine, climate action and the fight for democracy,” the party said in a statement.
European leaders have congratulated Donald Trump on his election to the White House, as EU officials and diplomats privately brace for what will likely be a combative four years, writes Europe Correspondent Jack Power.
In a statement French president Emmanuel Macron told Mr Trump he was “ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity”.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz also congratulated Mr Trump on his victory.
“For a long time, Germany and the US have been working together successfully promoting prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic. We will continue to do so for the wellbeing of our citizens,” he said.
Mr Macron and Mr Scholz also spoke on the phone on Wednesday morning, where the French president said they discussed the need to work towards “a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe in this new context”.
Giorgia Meloni, the populist right-wing Italian prime minister, offered her “most sincere congratulations” to Mr Trump, while far-right Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban described his election as a “much needed victory for the world”.
Officials in the European Commission have for months now been preparing for how to approach a second Trump term, given he has promised to introduce across-the-board tariffs on imports from abroad, setting the stage for a possible EU-US trade war.
Read Jack’s report on the EU’s plans and preparations for a second Trump term here.
Elon Musk’s transformation of X, formerly Twitter, into a political machine supporting Donald Trump could see the billionaire rewarded with a place in the president-elect’s new administration.
The SpaceX boss has become Trump’s most vocal fan and one of his biggest financial backers during the US election, which has seen X become an unofficial Republican Party campaign tool.
Musk’s influence has been so stark that, in his speech to supporters on election night in the US after he declared victory, Trump paid a lengthy tribute to Musk, calling him a “star” of the Republican Party and a “wonderful” guy.
Musk has posted relentlessly about his support for Trump to his hundreds of millions of followers in the run-up to the election, claiming the future of civilisation was at stake at the polls.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss has appeared at several Trump rallies, as well as pumping millions of dollars into campaign groups supporting the Republican nominee, and funding controversial sweepstakes in swing states that required people to register to vote and sign a pro-Trump petition in order to be eligible.
Alongside thousands of pro-Trump messages, Musk’s X account, and those of many of his most ardent fans, have also promoted conspiracy theories and misinformation around the key election issues, as well as the Democratic Party and its candidates, often receiving millions of views.
Such has been the swell and relentlessness of the support from Musk that Trump has suggested the tech boss could be given a role in his new cabinet around cost-cutting or government efficiency – a role Musk had previously called to be created to help reduce government spending. – PA
Republicans have taken control of the US Senate and are fighting to keep their majority in the House of Representatives, which would produce a full sweep of power in Congress alongside Donald Trump in the White House.
A unified Republican grip on Washington would set the course for Mr Trump’s agenda or if Democrats wrest control of the House, it would provide an almost certain backstop, with veto power over the White House.
Speaking early on Wednesday at his election night party in Florida, Mr Trump said the results delivered an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans.
He called the Senate victory “incredible”.
Vote counting in some races could go on for days, and control of the House is too early to call. – Associated Press
Democrats have now filled 180 seats, while Republicans are at 198. Some 218 seats are needed for control of the House, with 57 yet to be called.
While some have congratulated Trump, Labour leader Ivana Bacik has described his “devastating” victory as a “disaster”.
“A Trump win spells disaster on so many fronts. For Ukraine, for Gaza, for climate. For women’s rights, for migrant rights and for Europe. The US has made a choice – now the impact will be felt worldwide.”
Read Cormac McQuinn’s report here.
There has been a mixed reaction to the election of Donald Trump as US president by political leaders in Northern Ireland.
SDLP leader Claire Hanna said there is “serious concern” about what Mr Trump’s election will mean for the US.
“My thoughts today are largely with people in the United States who are fearful about what this might mean for their future,” she said.
“Donald Trump has repeatedly shown himself as someone with little respect for most people or the high office that he once again holds.
“It’s very disheartening that his divisive brand of politics has been so widely endorsed, but we acknowledge the clarity of the election outcome.
“There is serious concern about what this means for the United States, Gaza, Ukraine and indeed the world. In each, the most vulnerable will likely bear the brunt of the decisions the Trump administration will take.”
TUV leader Jim Allister said, however, that he believes Mr Trump had been the better candidate.
“It’s for the American people to make their choice and I do envy the fact that they are entitled to elect those who make their laws, unlike us in 300 areas where laws are made in a foreign parliament,” he said.
“Donald Trump was better than the alternative of Harris.
“On the issues which impact Northern Ireland, I trust that the historic premise of the United States – no taxation without representation – is something which could give him something to think about when it comes to us.
“As a man who respects borders, when he comes to deal with the United Kingdom I suspect he may be surprised we have a partitioning border down the middle of the UK and that may dissipate the inclination to do trade deals.” – PA
French president Emmanuel Macron has proposed a co-ordinated strategy among EU member states following Trump’s victory.
Reuters is reporting that Macron believes the 27 member states should co-ordinate their strategy over how to strengthen Europe after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, citing a French government spokesperson.
Donald Trump has been declared the 47th president of the United States by the Associated Press and several US networks.
Trump won the key state of Wisconsin, defeating vice-president Kamala Harris in a critical battleground. The win delivers 10 electoral college votes to Trump.
The Associated Press declared Trump the winner at 5.34am US eastern standard time.
The 78-year-old is the oldest person in US history to be elected president, and will be just the second to run two non-consecutive terms.
Leaders across the world, including Taoiseach Simon Harris, had been congratulating Trump since early Wednesday as the results became clear.
With 87 per cent of the estimated vote tallied, Trump has 51 per cent of the popular vote, with Harris at 47.4 per cent, according to Edison Research.
Many Londoners will be anxious about the outcome of the election, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has said, as Trump nears the finish line.
“Many will be fearful about what it will mean for democracy and for women’s rights, or how the result impacts the situation in the Middle East or the fate of Ukraine. Others will be worried about the future of Nato or tackling the climate crisis,” he said.
“London is – and will always be – for everyone. We will always be pro-women, pro-diversity, pro-climate and pro-human rights.
“The lesson of today is that progress is not inevitable. But asserting our progressive values is more important than ever – recommitting to building a world where racism and hatred is rejected, the fundamental rights of women and girls are upheld and where we continue to tackle the crisis of climate change head on.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, congratulated Trump on his “impressive” victory.
Zelenskiy said he looks forward to an era of a “strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership”.
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the “peace through strength” approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together,” he said.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has congratulated Trump, saying he looks forward to working with him in a constructive manner, “as we did during his previous administration”.
“The high level of political bipartisan interest in Irish issues among US politicians and officials is, and will continue to be, invaluable.
“Regular, high level, political engagement, both with the new US administration and on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill, will be a high priority for the Government,” he said.
“Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,” Trump told supporters during his address at Palm Beach in Florida.
“And that reason was to save our country and restore America to greatness and now we are going to fulfil that mission together,” he said.
As Pennsylvania brought him just three votes away from the winning line, Trump said the task before him will not be easy.
“But I will bring every ounce of energy, spirit and fight that I have in my soul to the job that you’ve entrusted to me,” he said.
Donald Trump is heading for the White House again and there are some big risks ahead for the Irish economy, Cliff Taylor writes.
Read his analysis here.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has congratulated Trump.
French president Emmanuel Macron has joined in congratulating Trump.
“Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity,” he said in a post on X.
Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, has congratulated Donald Trump on his “historic election victory”, Mark Paul reports.
Starmer added that he looks forward to working with him.
“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise,” said Starmer.
“From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Ireland, along with its EU partners and the rest of the globe, wakes up to a changed world this morning as the stunning victory of Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election takes shape.
Read Pat Leahy’s full analysis here.
AP has called Minnesota for Kamala Harris, bringing her to 224 electoral votes.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said Trump’s “historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America” and a “powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America”.
In Palm Beach on Tuesday evening, nobody was certain what was going to happen, Steven Carroll reports.
But standing behind their candidate were Blacks for Trump, Latinos for Trump, Women for Trump, Teens for Trump and even Canadians for Trump, willing that US president #45 would bridge a four-year gap and become president #47.
Read the full report here.
As Trump continues to address supporters at his campaign headquarters in West Palm Beach in Florida, AP has called Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state worth 19 electoral votes, for him.
His winning of Pennsylvania, Joe Biden’s home state, puts Trump just three electoral votes away from winning the presidency, meaning a win in Alaska would push him over the line.
According to AP, he was leading by 175,000 votes at the time the race was called. Trump cut into Harris’s margins in Philadelphia and its suburbs and expanded his share of the vote elsewhere in the state compared to his performance against Biden four years ago. Harris underperformed Biden’s 2020 performance in almost every county.
Thanking the crowd as they chant “USA”, Donald Trump said it was “the greatest political movement of all time”.
He promised “the golden age of America”, saying he will fight for every citizen and their families.
“There was no other path to victory,” he said, further remarking how the Republican Party has taken control of the US Senate to applause.
Claiming a “magnificent victory”, Trump thanked his “now vice-president” JD Vance.
Good morning, Jack White here taking over for the morning just as Donald Trump is about to address supporters in Palm Beach.
Donald Trump now looks to be barely a hair’s breadth away from a return to White House.
That’s all from me for this election. Thanks to Ruaidhrí Croke for his help behind the scenes overnight. I’m passing the torch to Jack White to take you into Wednesday’s coverage. Thanks for sticking with us overnight and follow more updates from across the Atlantic during the day on irishtimes.com.
CNN is projecting a Donald Trump victory in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is worth 19 electoral college votes to the Republican candidate, placing him into the final stretch of returning to the White House.
AP has called the second congressional district in Maine and one electoral vote for Trump.
From Keith Duggan in Washington: The Kamala Harris crowd in the yard of Howard University stood around.
They tried to maintain the mood of a party that never fully began, even as it began to dawn on everyone that Donald Trump is on the cusp of returning to the city, with the winter winds of January, as the 47th president of the United States.
It was around then, clocks striking 12, down at the Trump party in Mar-a-Lago, that the crowd erupted when North Carolina was called, by the liberal-leaning CNN broadcaster, for the Republicans.
Read his piece in full here.
[ Red November: Victory beckons for Trump as Republicans vote for their last, best chanceOpens in new window ]
The scenes in Florida contrast starkly with those in Washington, where Harris’s supporters have dispersed from the grounds of Howard University.
The crowd at Trump’s watch party in West Palm Beach looks to be growing with the faces of Robert F Kennedy jnr and Nigel Farage among them.
Trump himself is expected to address the crowd shortly.
AP calls New Hampshire for Harris.
CNN are now projecting that the Republican Party will take majority control of the US Senate.
AP calls Nebraska’s first congressional district in and one electoral vote for Trump.
AP has also called a Trump win in Georgia as the last polls close in Alaska bringing an end to voting in this battle for the White House.
Trump is expected to pick up the state’s three electoral college votes given that it has long been a Republican stronghold.
Both CNN and NBC have projected that Trump will win the battle for the key swing state of Georgia.
Co-chair and top adviser to Kamala Harris Cedric Richmond has addressed the vice-president’s supporters gathered at Howard University.
Richmond told supporters that Harris will not address them tonight. Live footage on Sky News showed the already dwindling crowd dispersing from the Washington university campus.
“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. 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,” Richmond said.
The US election fight between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump remained tight as results rolled in on Tuesday night, with a victor in the election unlikely to emerge until Wednesday or even later in the week.
Here are some takeaways as polls close across the country and votes are tabulated.
[ Black and Latino voters, the age gap, gender lines: Early takeaways from the US presidential electionOpens in new window ]
AP reports that Donald Trump is heading from his Mar-a-Lago residence to the results watch party in nearby West Palm Beach in Florida.
Trump has been hosting a private gathering at his residence earlier in the evening. The guest list includes former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, world’s richest man Elon Musk and Reform MP for Clacton Nigel Farage.
All three guests appeared in a live broadcast from Mar-a-Lago on X earlier tonight.
Republicans won a US Senate majority after flipping Democratic seats in West Virginia and Ohio. Neither party appeared to have an edge in the fight for control of the House of Representatives where Republicans currently hold a narrow majority.
AP has called the second congressional district in Nebraska and one electoral vote for Kamala Harris.
The race is becoming increasingly tight.
With AP’s call on Hawaii, Harris is now standing on 209 electoral college votes while Trump is currently on 230.
Trump is just 40 electoral votes away from securing his second term as US president. If he is successful, he would be the first president since Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Cleveland’s first term ran from 1885 to 1889 while his second term was between 1893 and 1897.
AP calls Hawaii for Kamala Harris.
There’s a small but celebratory crowd of around 25 Trump supporters at Trump Towers on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue. A rotating carousel of international journalists latch on to a flag-waving member for comment but to the side is Jeffrey Smith, a gentlemen in a fitted suit who wouldn’t give his age but accepted he was in his 70s. He stressed he had all the “New York attitudes”.
Smith believes “Trump is unique, but he is returning to the patriotic movement prior to the rise of conservatism in the 1950s”.
Smith said a Trump presidency would be a protecting force for America.
The final polls in the US are set to close at 5am Irish time.
Hawaii has traditionally voted Democrat and is worth four electoral college votes white Alaska is usually a safe bet to vote Republican and is worth three electoral college votes.
AP calls Virginia for Harris.
AP calls the state of New Mexico for Kamala Harris.
As was expected, Harris has picked up some electoral college votes from the west coast’s blue wall. Her camp will be hoping to pick up more in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
The race for the White House is now boiling down to the seven key swing states.
Trump has already taken one of these (North Carolina) and we’re still waiting for news out of the others – Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Remember, 270 electoral college votes are needed to secure the presidency.
AP has now called Oregon for Harris.
AP has called North Carolina for Donald Trump.
North Carolina is one of the seven key swing states in this year’s election.
It’s the first of these states to have its race called.
Donald Trump appeared to take an early lead over his presidential rival Kamala Harris as polls closed across US states.
The Republican candidate inched ahead in the early hours of the race, with predicted wins in solidly red states including Florida, Texas and Alabama outnumbering Harris’s wins in Democrat strongholds including New York and Illinois.
There have been no major surprises in the election so far, but crucial battleground states including Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are yet to be called, and could tip the balance in the contest to be the next US president.
Seven states are considered so-called swing states in this year’s election, with Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin also among them.
Under the US voting system, a total of 270 votes in the college are needed to win the presidency.
The election has largely unfolded smoothly across the US, despite some voters suffering delays in casting their ballots, and a spate of what the FBI described as non-credible bomb threats.
The economy – and reducing inflation – is a key issue for Americans according to exit polling, but other areas of concern for voters include immigration, protecting democracy and abortion rights.
As they take part in the presidential poll, 10 states across the US are also voting on whether to enshrine the right to abortion in law.
In Florida, efforts to amend the state’s constitution to add abortion rights failed, but New Yorkers voted in favour of a similar amendment.
Concerns about the future of American democracy have emerged largely as a result of Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn his loss in 2020, and the actions of his angry supporters in January 2021, who stormed Washington DC’s Capitol building.
Trump said on Tuesday that he had no plans to tell his supporters to refrain from violence if Ms Harris wins because they “are not violent people”.
The neck-and-neck race will have a sweeping impact on global politics. – AP
AP has called three states:
AP called Maine’s first congressional district and one electoral college vote for Harris.
Polls will close in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho at 4am Irish time. All these states bar Idaho are likely to provide a boost to Harris’s electoral college votes.
AP calls both Kansas and Iowa for Trump.
As we wait for the next round of poll closures, let’s take a quick glance at which locations have been called for which candidate.
Kamala Harris
Vermont, Illinois, Colorado, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, District of Columbia
Donald Trump
Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming
AP has called the District of Columbia, a long-time Democratic stronghold, for Kamala Harris.
Tens of millions of Americans will have already voted by the time that polls close on November 5th, but tens of millions more will cast ballots in person on election day. In 2020, more than 150 million Americans voted in the presidential race, as turnout hit its highest level since 1992.
This year, election experts expect voter turnout to be similarly robust, with Americans eager to make their voices heard in what will probably be a very close contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Voters will also have the opportunity to weigh in on thousands of other elections happening at the federal, state and local levels. – Guardian
AP calls Colorado for Kamala Harris.
There were cheers at the NYC New Liberals Election Watch Party in Manhattan a bar as Illinois was called for the vice-president, but people here admit to “freaking out” as the Harris wave has not materialised and said the mood is reminiscent of “Hillary in 2016″.
Elsewhere across midtown Manhattan, there’s an indifference to the election as most people perched on high stools face the sports channels.
Another attendant at the watch party said they don’t “feel the dread of 2016, but maybe I didn’t have my hopes up as much”.
AP has called both Montana and Utah for Donald Trump. Both have continuously voted Republican for decades.
Polling is about to end in three states – Montana, Utah and the key swing state of Nevada.
AP calls the state of Missouri for Trump.
AP has called Nebraska’s third congressional district for Trump, which would secure him one of the state’s five electoral college votes.
Nebraska’s other two districts have yet to be called.
The outcome of the race remains uncertain with critical battleground states unlikely to be called for hours or even days.
The early results were as anticipated, with the contest expected to come down to seven swing states: Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. Opinion polls showed the rivals neck and neck in all seven going into election day. – Reuters
Ohio has been called for Trump by AP.
AP calls New York for Kamala Harris.
As 15 more states close their polls, AP has projected Trump to win in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Louisiana.
We’re about to see another big swathe of polls closing across the continental US at 2am Irish time:
AP has also called the state of Illinois for Kamala Harris.
Just as we get word from our man in Washington, AP has called both New Jersey and Delaware for Harris.
There’s a celebratory mood tempered by nervousness in the main yard of Howard University, where Kamala Harris will spend the final hours of her election campaign. Those who scored passes to attend the event began to gather from late afternoon and are enjoying live performances and DJ sets on what is a beautifully mild November evening in Washington.
Harris is one of the most celebrated graduates from Howard, the historically black university in the Shaw area of the city. Right now there is a terrific gospel set taking place, a good distraction from the slow process of watching the projected state results as polls close across the country.
Guests of the campaign are saying the same thing at this early stage: they are very hopeful. And very nervous.
AP has called Arkansas for Donald Trump.
So far tonight, the states that have been called are on track with their historical voting patterns.
Harris has picked up the traditionally blue states of Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhose Island and Maryland as well as the District of Columbia. The vice-president is sitting on 35 electoral college votes just before 1.15am Irish time.
Trump meanwhile, is sitting on 95 electoral college votes, picking those up from Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida and – one of the key swing states – South Carolina.
AP has called South Carolina for Trump.
Several races called as polls closed in 16 states at 1am Irish time.
Trump is projected to win Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Missouri, Edison Research says.
Harris projected to win Washington DC, Maryland and Massachusetts, according to Edison.
Florida, which has 30 electoral college votes, was formerly considered a swing state. Trump, who lives in Florida, got 51 per cent of the vote in the state in 2020, compared to 48 per cent for Joe Biden. – Reuters
Democratic nominee and sitting US vice-president Kamala Harris posted a similar message on X tonight.
Republican candidate and former US president Donald Trump urged his supporters to “stay in line” in video posted on X in the early hours of Wednesday.
“We’re doing really well,” Trump says in the video.
“If you’re in line, stay in line. Don’t let them take you off that line. Vote … we’re gonna win it big.”
Polling day has unfolded relatively smoothly across the United States with only scattered disruptions and delays.
Leading into Tuesday, more than 82 million Americans had already cast their ballots in a largely successful early voting period with high turnout despite some hiccups and frustrations in the presidential battleground of Pennsylvania.
When the final day of voting came, the problems that cropped up were “largely expected routine and planned-for events,” said Cait Conley, senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She said the agency was not currently tracking any national, significant incidents affecting election security.
Issues affecting voters on Tuesday included typical election mishaps, from a worker forgetting a key in Arizona’s largest county to an election judge failing to show up at the polls in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County. Some precincts around the country faced issues with voter check-in processes and e-pollbooks, causing some delays for voters trying to cast ballots. Some areas had ballot printing mistakes and were printing new ballots and extending voting hours accordingly.
Extreme weather across the middle of the country also caused flooding and some other isolated problems, including knocking out power for at least one Missouri polling place that resorted to a generator to keep voting up and running.
Still, in various states affected by rain, voters enthusiastically huddled under umbrellas as they queued up to cast their ballots.
In the western part of the key swing state of Pennsylvania, a few counties saw reports of issues with tabulator machines that scan and count paper ballots filled in by voters. A Pennsylvania state judge ordered polls to remain open for two extra hours in Cambria County, which voted 68 per cent for Trump in 2020. The county sought the extension after a software malfunction affected the ballot-scanning machines, though county officials said no one was turned away from the polls and all ballots would be counted.
In Georgia, another presidential swing state, fewer than a dozen precincts were set to stay open late because of delayed openings or evacuations due to alleged bomb threats that were found to be non-credible, according to secretary of state Brad Raffensperger. That included two precincts in Cobb County, which is northwest of Atlanta. They were staying open until 7.20pm local time because they opened late due to equipment issues. – AP
Polls have also closed in North Carolina and Ohio.
The AP has called the state of West Virginia for Donald Trump.
Polls are about to close in the key swing state of Georgia and in Florida, where Steven Carroll reports from Palm Beach:
Trump supporters dressed in their Sunday best are gathering here for an event that some of TV networks have speculated Donald Trump may not attend. He is a short spin away at his Mar-a-Lago residence where there’s a party for members of the exclusive club, his friends and family and donors and supporters with the guest list understood to include Elon Musk, UFC chief Dana White and Robert F Kennedy jnr.
The Associated Press has also called that Trump will win in Indiana.
The first races have been called. Donald Trump is projected to win Kentucky, according to Edison Research. Kamala Harris is projected to win Vermont.
Vermont, which has three electoral college votes, has gone reliably for Democrats in recent presidential elections. Since electing Bill Clinton in 1992, the northeastern state has been considered a safe Democratic stronghold.
Kentucky, which has eight electoral college votes, has been reliably Republican since the 1950s. – Reuters
Hoax bomb threats, many of which appeared to originate from Russian email domains, were directed at polling locations in four key election states, the FBI has said in a statement.
The polling locations affected were in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin
“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far,” the FBI said in a statement, adding that election integrity was among the bureau’s highest priorities.
A wax work thrusting Trump is being driven around New York. In a city that can be difficult to grab attention, a thrusting Trump is getting quite a lot.
Trumps left hand became dislodged in transit, but remains gripped on the wax brunette ankle.
He interviewed the artist behind the piece, Alison Jackson.
There’s one key figure to watch for tonight: 270.
That’s the number of electoral college votes a candidate needs to clinch the presidency by majority.
Swing states – namely Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada – are crucial in this year’s electoral college battle.
The number of electors reflects a state’s population. All bar two states employ a winner-takes all approach to their number of electors. Maine and Nebraska send electors on a more proportional basis.
A total of 93 electoral college seats are up for grabs between the seven swing states.
See Hugh Linehan’s explainer for more details here.
[ US election explained: How does the electoral college work?Opens in new window ]
Election officials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin said they will recount about 31,000 of 106,000 ballots because poll workers failed to properly lock doors covering controls on 13 tabulating machines at the city’s central vote-counting location, Timothy Aeppel reports.
Seals underneath the doors were still in place, and there was no evidence of tampering, Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Milwaukee mayor Cavalier Johnson, said.
He said the recount was done “out of an abundance of caution” and attributed the issue to “human error”. – Reuters
Here’s some more details on the exit poll by Edison Research. These were some of the key issues on voters’ minds and how they viewed the two candidates.
Forty-four per cent of voters nationwide said they had a favourable view of Trump, compared with 46% who said so in Edison Research’s 2020 exit poll. 54% viewed him unfavourably, compared with 52% in 2020.
Forty-eight per cent of voters nationwide said they had a favourable view of Harris, compared with 52% who said the same of Biden in Edison Research’s 2020 exit poll while 50% viewed her unfavourably, compared with 46% who viewed Biden that way in 2020.
Seventy-three per cent of voters nationwide said they think democracy in the US is threatened. Twenty-five per cent said it is secure.
Thirty-one per cent of voters nationwide said the economy mattered most in deciding how to vote in the presidential election. Eleven per cent said immigration, 14% abortion, 34% foreign policy.
Forty-five per cent of voters nationwide said their family’s financial situation was worse off than it was four years ago, compared with 20 per cent who said so in Edison Research’s 2020 exit poll. Some 24% said they were better off than they were four years ago, compared with 41 per cen in 2020. Thirty per cent said their financial situation was unchanged.
Fifty-one per cent of voters nationwide said they trust Trump more to handle the economy while 47 per cent said they trust Harris more. – Reuters
As the first polls close, it’s worth taking a few minutes to check our explainer on swing states and how their votes will impact the outcome of this tightly contested election.
[ US election explained: What are swing states and how will they decide the presidency?Opens in new window ]
The first polls have closed in the US, with voting wrapping up in most Indiana counties and in Kentucky’s eastern half.
Voting will finish in the rest of the two red states at 7pm, at which point it will also conclude in a handful of other states – including swing state Georgia. – Guardian
Reuters reports that Elon Musk was sued in a proposed class action on Tuesday by registered voters who signed his petition to support the US constitution for a chance to win his $1 million-a-day giveaway, and now claim it was a fraud.
The complaint filed by Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty in the Austin, Texas, federal court said Musk and his America PAC organisation falsely induced voters to sign by claiming they would choose winners randomly, though they were predetermined.
She also said the defendants profited from the giveaway by driving traffic and attention to Musk’s X social media platform, and by collecting personal information such as her name, address and phone number that they could sell.
A lawyer for Musk and lawyers for McAferty did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the complaint.
McAferty sued one day after a Philadelphia judge denied a request by that city’s district attorney Larry Krasner to end the giveaway, which Krasner called an illegal lottery.
That ruling was largely symbolic because Musk has no plans to give out more money following the US presidential election.
Musk opened the giveaway to voters in seven battleground states who signed a petition to support free speech and gun rights. Tuesday’s lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages for everyone who signed.
Musk is a Texas resident and his electric car company Tesla is based in Austin.
He has supported Republican Donald Trump in the presidential race against Harris. – Reuters
Nearly three-quarters of voters in Tuesday’s presidential election believe American democracy is under threat, according to national exit poll data from Edison Research, reflecting the deep anxiety that the nation faces after a contentious campaign between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
Democracy and the economy ranked by far as the most important issues for voters, followed by abortion and immigration, the data showed. The poll showed 73 per cent of voters believed democracy was in jeopardy, against just 25 per cent who said it was secure.
The figures reflect just a slice of the tens of millions of people who have voted, both before and on election day, and the preliminary results are subject to change through the course of the night as more people are surveyed.
The two rivals were hurtling toward an uncertain finish after a dizzying campaign as millions of American voters waited in calm, orderly lines on Tuesday to choose between two sharply different visions for the country. – Reuters
Good evening, it’s Glen Murphy here taking you into the early hours of the morning. Thanks to my colleague Fiachra Gallagher for manning the fort earlier tonight.
The first indications of who might take the White House are expected after midnight Irish time.
Here are some shots from polling stations across the US.
Kamala Harris made an unexpected stop at the Democratic National Comittee headquarters in Washington DC, where she dropped in on a phone banking event.
After refusing to concede the 2020 election and earlier accusing Democrats of trying to steal this year’s vote, Trump struck a more slightly more conciliatory tone after casting his vote in Florida earlier on Tuesday. “If I lose an election – a fair election – I’ll be the first one to acknowledge it,” he said.
“I may regret that statement, but I’m hearing we’re doing very well,” Trump added. Addressing concerns of civil unrest once the results are known, Trump said there would be no violence.
‘My supporters are not violent people,” he said. “I certainly don’t want any violence.” – Bloomberg
Police at the Capitol Building, seat of the United States Congress in Washington DC, arrested a man on Tuesday afternoon.
The FBI said that phoney bomb threats targeting polling locations across the US appeared to originate from Russian email domains.
“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far,” the FBI said in a statement, adding that election integrity was among the bureau’s highest priorities.
At least two polling sites targeted by the hoax bomb threats in the election battleground state of Georgia were briefly evacuated on Tuesday. – Reuters
Elon Musk will spend election night with Donald Trump, the New York Times is reporting.
Billionaire owner of X Musk has thrown his full weight behind Trump, donating over $100 million in recent months to America Pac, a political action committee he founded that supported the former president’s campaign. Musk also appeared at several of Trump’s election rallies in recent weeks, and he often posts in support of Trump to his 203 million followers on X.
If you’re looking for some company on election night, Democrats Abroad Ireland are hosting an election watch party at the Arlington Hotel, on Bachelors Walk in Dublin’s city centre. The event kicks off at 10pm, and will run right through the night – you’ll probably have a good idea of who’s going to be the 47th president by the time they kick you out at 7am.
Our videographer Enda O’Dowd is in New York and he has been speaking to voters.
From midmorning New York time Donald Trump fans started arriving outside Trump Tower in anticipation of a night of celebrations. Elsewhere in the city the mood was anxious among voters not only to the outcome of tonight’s election but whether the results would be accepted by the former president and his supporters. – Enda O’Dowd
Voters in the US will also decide the make-up of the Senate and the House of Representatives in today’s ballot.
Republicans currently control the House with 220 representatives to 212 Democrats, while the Democrats have the upper hand in the Senate with 51 seats (including four independents who caucus with them), to 49. All 435 seats are up for grabs in the House, while 34 are in play in the Senate.
Federal officials are bracing for an increase in efforts by foreign adversaries to undermine the US elections but said they had not seen any national-level threats so far.
On Monday night, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI and intelligence agencies issued an unusual warning that adversaries, led by Russia, were conducting additional influence operations.
On Tuesday, Cait Conley, a senior official with the cybersecurity agency, told the New York Times she expected an increase in the “scope and scale” of the influence efforts.
“Adversaries have taken lessons learned from previous cycles to understand which narratives would be most effective,” she said. – New York Times
Voters are going to the polls across the US and the two candidates have already cast their ballots.
Donald Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club, and said afterwards that he was feeling “very confident”.
“It looks like Republicans have shown up in force,” the 78-year-old told reporters, wearing a red Make America Great Again baseball cap.
Kamala Harris cast her vote by mail ballot to California. – PA
A tight and fiercely contested battle is approaching the end as the remaining voters across 50 states record their preference into the ballot box, with results set to start rolling in through the night.
The first of those results can be expected at around 11pm Irish time when the polls close in Indiana and Kentucky – both solidly Republican states so expect no surprises there.
The first swing state to announce results is likely to be Georgia at around midnight Irish time with the biggest block of results likely to come in around an hour later. For more on what time you can expect results and how the US election system works, read Hugh Linehan’s US election night guide.
Our Washington correspondent Keith Duggan, as well as reporter Steven Carroll and videographer Enda O’Dowd, will be sending updates from the ground overnight in what could be a drawn-out process before a winner is declared.
Welcome to our live coverage of the 2024 US election as Americans decide whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will become their 47th president.
A race that was originally due to see Joe Biden battle Trump for a second term in the White House has taken numerous twists and turns over the summer months and into autumn and now sees Harris aiming to become the first woman president of the United States.
Along the way Trump has survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, seen another attempt thwarted by the Secret Service, claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are stealing and eating people’s pet cats and dogs, filled Madison Square Garden for a rally at which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” and hit out at a poll that showed Iowa – thought to be a solidly Republican state – leaning towards Harris in the final days of the election.
Both sides claim that democracy is on the ballot paper and if the other side wins this could be the last presidential election in the US. As the months slipped by the debate has become more divided and bitter, leading to a feeling of angst across the country as election day looms.
Our Washington correspondent Keith Duggan has been across it all and on Saturday wrote this piece about just what is at stake today.