President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling it out for the race to the White House, with polls gradually closing across the United States.
So far, Trump has won Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah. Biden, meanwhile, has taken Democratic-leaning states like Colorado, Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
The US is heading for a historic election with the voter turnout indicating the largest participation in a century. According to the United States Election Project, in at least six states — Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Washington State — the turnout has been more than what we saw in the 2016 polls.
The latest tally of early voting in the US shows that almost 102 million Americans cast their votes before Election Day, an eyepopping total that represents 73 of the total turnout of the 2016 presidential election. Early voting — whether in person or by mail-in or absentee ballot — has swelled during the Covid-19 pandemic as voters have sought the safety and convenience it offers. The greatest gains have been witnessed in Kentucky where almost 13 times as many voters cast their ballots early as in 2016.
Nov 4, 2020 8:51 (IST)
Swing State Florida Headed the Donald Trump Way Despite Opinion Polls Showing Edge for Joe Biden | President Donald Trump appeared on track Tuesday to win the big prize of Florida in early results from his battle against Democrat Joe Biden for the White House after gigantic voter turnout in the most polarized US election for decades. Florida is widely considered a must win for Trump to retain the presidency, but opinion polls had shown Biden edging even or ahead, offering the Democrat the tantalizing prospect of knocking his opponent out at the start of counting. The Trump campaign claimed victory there after US media reports showed him capturing swaths of the Latino vote that had previously been loyal to Democrats — although the state had yet to called for either candidate. “President Trump wins Florida,” the campaign tweeted over a picture of Trump giving the thumb’s up. Biden’s team has long insisted that it doesn’t need to win Florida and analysts pointed to gains for the Democrat in some Trump areas of the state that might bode well in other big states.
Nov 4, 20208:48 (IST)
US Election Results 2020: Trump Support Eroding Among Older Voters, Up with Latinos, Exit Polls Show | As voting sites closed throughout the United States on Tuesday, exit polls conducted by Edison Research provided some insight on major issues driving the presidential vote and an early read on voter support. Here are some highlights from the poll, which is based on in-person interviews with voters on Tuesday, in-person interviews at early voting centers before Election Day and telephone interviews with people who voted by mail. President Donald Trump appears to have lost some support among white men and older people in Georgia and Virginia, key parts of the Republican’s voter base, according to Edison polls. While Trump is still winning the majority of those voters, some of them switched to supporting his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, the exit polls showed. Edison’s polls showed Trump winning seven in 10 white men in Georgia, which is down from an eight in 10 advantage over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. And while Trump is winning six in 10 voters who are at least 65 years old in Georgia, that is down from a seven in 10 four years ago.
Nov 4, 20208:44 (IST)
US Election 2020: After Florida setback, Joe Biden has established a lead in Utah and Arizona, according to CNN Projections. There’s a close contest in North Carolina. Notably, Biden is leading in New Mexico and is also ahead by a wide margin in Minnesota.
Texas, once a Republican stronghold, has grown increasingly competitive in recent years as the population has grown more diverse and Donald Trump’s polarizing presidency has alienated suburban women.
Nov 4, 20208:39 (IST)
US Election Results 2020: MARKET WATCH | Share markets turned skittish and S&P futures wobbled on Wednesday as results from the US presidential election showed an agonisingly close race with no clear winner yet in sight. Investors had initially wagered that a possible Democratic sweep by Joe Biden could ease political risk while promising a huge boost to fiscal stimulus, hitting the safe-haven dollar and bonds. Japan’s Nikkei was still ahead by 1.4%, but MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.6%. The U.S. dollar likewise reversed early losses and climbed 1% on a basket of currencies to 94.071. The euro fell back hard to $1.1634 and away from a top of $1.1768.
Nov 4, 20208:38 (IST)
US President Trump Now Leads in Ohio | Big shift as President Trump now holds a marginal lead in the battleground state of Ohio, according to CNN projections. Trump wins South Carolina which has nine electoral votes and Alabama which, too, has nine electoral votes, CNN projections say. Joe Biden is leading in New Mexico and is also ahead by a wide margin in Minnesota.
Nov 4, 20208:32 (IST)
US Election 2020: Kanye West Votes for Himself After Erratic Campaign for the White House | Rapper Kanye West on Tuesday voted for himself as the next U.S. president after a longshot campaign marked by erratic statements and speculation that he might siphon some Black votes from Democrat Joe Biden. The singer and fashion designer tweeted that he was “voting for the first time in my life for the President of the United States, and it’s for someone I truly trust … me.” He later posted video of himself casting his vote in Cody, Wyoming, where he wrote himself in on the ballot. West, 43, got onto the presidential ballot in a handful of states, although not in battlegrounds like Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan. He has spent recent weeks instructing followers how to vote for him as a write-in candidate elsewhere
