After winning Alabama, Republican Donald Trump wins Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina, capturing three of the seven heavily contested battlegrounds and coming within a few electoral votes of winning the presidency.
Republicans reclaimed control of the Senate, picking up seats in West Virginia and Ohio. Top House races are focused in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to claw back some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.
Here’s the latest as of 1:45 a.m. CT:
Republicans secure Senate control
The GOP has won control of the Senate as Sen. Deb Fischer secures reelection in Nebraska.
With at least 51 Senate seats secured, Republicans will retake control of the chamber for the first time in four years. It gives the party a major power center in Washington and important power in confirming the next president’s Cabinet, as well as any Supreme Court justice if there is a vacancy.
With a handful of battleground races yet to be decided, Republicans still have an opportunity to grow their majority.
GOP senators have already been looking at ways to extend tax cuts that were passed during Donald Trump’s first term, as well as sending funding towards toughened border security measures. However, the extent of Republicans’ power in Washington will also be determined by the results of the presidential and House races.
Trump vows in his election night speech to fight ‘for your family and your future’
He promised that he would “not rest until we have delivered the strong safe and prosperous America.”
“Every single day,” Trump said, “I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.”
Donald Trump has taken the stageThe AP’s current count has him at 267 of the 270 electoral votes he needs to win the White House. He is leading in key races left to be called, including Michigan and Wisconsin.
Pennsylvania puts Trump three electoral votes short of the presidential threshold
Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania has put him three electoral votes short of winning the presidency. He could win the White House by capturing Alaska or any remaining swing state.
Hugs, calls and celebration at Trump’s watch party
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 center in West Palm Beach.
Republicans celebrate early turnout among Black and Hispanic voters
As the election stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, Republicans — seeing a map trending positively for their party — began to point to a shift in demographic support among key voting groups who often lean Democrat.
Preliminary AP VoteCast data suggested a shift among Black and Latino voters, who appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Biden four years ago. About 8 in 10 Black voters backed Harris, down from the roughly 9 in 10 who backed Biden. More than half of Hispanic voters supported Harris, but that was down slightly from the roughly 6 in 10 who backed Biden in 2020. Trump’s support among those groups appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told AP at Trump’s election watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, that he’s excited for the exit polling in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Republicans are already seeing overperformance compared to this time in the election in 2020.
“I’m just really excited not just because I think it’s going to be a victory but about how we won,” the Florida lawmaker said.
More Election 2024 coverage can be found at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
