With first results of the US presidential elections trickling in the CNN exit poll has projected a win for former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump in Florida, while Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris has picked up Massachusetts, Maryland and Vermont. Harris and Trump each need at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency in an election that is seen as one of the most significant in recent US history. Trump, who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, is seeking a return to the White House after losing to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Harris has been serving as vice president since January 2021. The election is expected to come down to a handful of battleground states -- Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. CNN's early exit polls projected that Harris will win Massachusetts, Columbia, and Maryland.
Trump is leading in Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama, District of Columbia, Tennessee, Florida, West Virginia, Indiana and Kentucky. As per CNN projections, Trump has 54.2 per cent of popular vote (14,023,637 votes), while Harris has 44.
6 per cent of popular vote (11,537,912 votes). Trump is leading with 90 electoral votes, while Harris has 27 electoral votes at 7 am (IST).A candidate needs at least 270 out of 538 electoral votes to win the election.
Overall, Trump is leading with 9,796,095 votes, while Harris has won 8,436,349 votes, as per early CNN exit poll. There are four.