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The US presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is tightly contested, with results in key swing states still uncertain.
Plaster figurines of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump displayed for sale in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico (Photo: AFP)
The volatile, dramatic US presidential race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump is headed to an unpredictable finish, with millions of Americans casting their votes in one of the tightest elections of modern times.
The early results were as anticipated, with the contest expected to come down to seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The result — which may be known overnight or not for days — will bring major consequences, either making Harris the first woman in arguably the world’s most powerful job or handing power back to Trump and his nationalist “America First” agenda.
According to BBC, Donald Trump, as of now, looks to be ahead in three out of six battleground states where results are being reported so far: Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is ahead in Michigan, though only 19 per cent of the votes in that state have been counted so far, and in Arizona, where half of the votes have been counted. She is also ahead in Wisconsin, the report stated.
Polls for weeks have shown a razor-thin race between Harris and Trump, who would be the oldest president at the time of inauguration, the first felon president and only the second to serve non-consecutive terms. Harris made a late, dramatic entrance into the race when President Joe Biden dropped out in July, while Trump — twice impeached while president — has since ridden out two assassination attempts and a criminal conviction.
The election is being watched closely around the world including in the war zones of Ukraine and the Middle East.
WHAT ARE THE SWING STATES IN US ELECTION 2024?
ARIZONA
Trump had lost in Arizona in 2020, by wafer-thin 10,500 votes — the first Republican defeat since 1996. Some supporters were convinced it was a fix, and at the 2022 midterm elections, armed men loomed over ballot boxes, ostensibly to make sure nothing was amiss.
According to Times/Siena Trump is up 2.2 points in FiveThirtyEight average, and is leading by 45 to 49 per cent, as per Emerson, he is leading by 48 to 50 per cent, and according to YouGov, Trump is leading by 47 to 48 per cent.
GEORGIA
In Georgia, Trump had opened up a 52.3 per cent to 47.1 per cent lead with 77 per cent of the estimated vote tallied, news agency Reuters quoted Edison. With more than 90 per cent of the votes in, and Trump still three percentage points ahead, Kamala Harris needs to do very well with the remaining urban votes yet.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both seeking to win over Black voters in the crucial southern state, its largest minority voting bloc, in a race that could be decided by razor-thin margins. The Democratic bastion, which includes most of the capital Atlanta, is crucial in deciding who wins the southern state — and its coveted 16 electoral college votes. Black voters traditionally lean heavily Democratic, but to win the tight election race, Harris needs them to turn out in force.
Election surveys have shown Harris winning women by large margins — who are driven in part by anxiety over reproductive rights — while struggling with men, news agency AFP reported.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania has 19 electoral college votes, more than any of the other swing states which could go for either Harris or Trump, with polls showing them locked in a dead heat.
According to Forbes, Harris is leading by 0.2 points in the FiveThirtyEight weighted polling average, while the candidates are tied at 48 per cent in both a New York Times/Siena survey and a Morning Consult poll, and Emerson College has Trump up 49 per cent -48 per cent, but YouGov has Harris leading 48 per cent -46 per cent.
NEVADA
In Nevada, Trump is up by 0.3 points in the 538 average, but the Times/Siena poll shows Harris leading 49 to 46 per cent and YouGov has Harris up 48 to 47 per cent, while Emerson shows a tie at 48 per cent.
NORTH CAROLINA
Donald Trump has won North Carolina after receiving the state’s 16 electoral votes. Trump also won the state in 2016 and 2020, but Democrats had been optimistic they could reverse previous outcomes with campaign spending, canvassing and Harris rallies.
Trump blitzed North Carolina in the final days of the campaign, stopping in four cities over four days and finishing his North Carolina campaign in Raleigh on Monday.
Earlier projections in the swing state suggested Trump was leading by 0.9 points and was ahead 48 to 49 per cent according to Emerson, 47 to 29 per cent according to Morning Consult and 47 to 48 per cent as per YouGov.
MICHIGAN
Harris is leading by one point, 48 to 50 per cent in Emerson’s polling, 48 to 49 per cent in Morning Consult’s survey and 45 to 47 per cent according to YouGov, but they’re tied at 47 per cent in the New York Times/Siena survey.
WISCONSIN
In Wisconsin, Harris is up by 1.1 points per FiveThirtyEight, and she leads Trump by 45 to 48 per cent according to YouGov and 47 to 49 per cent as per Times/Siena, but they’re tied at 49 per cent in Emerson’s polling, and Morning Consult has a roughly one-point Trump lead, Forbes said.
