US: Trump Wins Florida, 4 Other states, Harris Captures Massachusetts, Maryland

 With the 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 electoral votes at stake in West Virginia. 15 polling places in Georgia extended voting hours, out of which 12 did so due to Russia-originated bomb threats, CNN reported.

"The FBI knows where it's coming from, but we want to make sure in the interest of public safety, make sure that it doesn't slow down anyone from voting," Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said at a press conference about the bomb threats.

Georgia's independent voters now favour Trump over Harris, which is a shift from the 2020 elections where Biden had won. Now a thin majority say that they back Trump, CNN's exit polls reported. Trump retained his hold over voters without a college degree, where roughly 8 out of 10 picked him over Harris. 

Harris is largely favoured among young voters and Black voters in Georgia, according to the initial results of CNN's exit poll among voters in the state. Roughly 86 per cent of Black Georgia voters say they cast their ballot for Harris, as do about 6 in 10 voters younger than 30. Roughly 4 in 10 Georgia voters call the economy their top issue.

Less than three in ten Georgia voters say the state of democracy is their top issue, about 14 per cent say abortion and about 10 per cent say immigration, with fewer than 5 per cent saying foreign policy. This is in stark contrast to the average of the nation as a whole, which cited democracy to be their top issue.

Nearly six in ten voters in Georgia disapproved of current US President Joe Biden, which is similar to the votes nationwide. North Carolina's voters are almost evenly split on whether the hurricane aid is reaching those who need it. About seven in ten North Carolina voters say they are dissatisfied or angry with the way things are going in the country. Only about 6 per cent in the Tar Heel State said they are enthusiastic about the state of things in the country, while more than 25 per cent said that they are angry.

Voters in the state are closely split on their top issue, with about 36 per cent picking the economy and about one-third saying the state of democracy. Fewer picked abortion or immigration, with foreign policy in last place. Former President Donald Trump will win Indiana, CNN's exit poll claims. There are 11 electoral votes at stake in Indiana. Trump will win Kentucky, CNN's early exit polls suggest. There are eight electoral votes at stake in Kentucky. It would take at least 270 electoral votes to win.

Harris will win Vermont, CNN projects. There are three electoral votes at stake in Vermont. It would take at least 270 electoral votes to win. Roughly 46 per cent of voters have a positive view of Harris but not of Trump, according to the initial results of CNN's national exit poll of voters in this year's presidential election, while a slightly smaller share, about 42 per cent, hold a positive view of Trump, but not Harris. About 8 per cent of voters nationally hold negative views of both candidates.

Aboout 72 per cent of voters say they are dissatisfied or angry about the direction of the country. 41 per cent of voters approve of Joe Biden, while 67 per cent call the economy bad or poor. A majority of voters said they had made up their minds about the presidential race well before Election Day, according to the initial results of CNN's national exit poll.

Eight in ten voters say they made their decision about the presidential race sometime before September. Fewer than 1 in 10 say they decided in the past week, with about one-eighth saying they decided in September or October.

Deeply polarised views of voters have come to the fore, with two-thirds believing that this year's election is being conducted fairly and accurately, as per the initial exit polls by CNN.

Roughly nine in ten voters supporting Harris say they are confident, compared with just about half of those supporting former President Donald Trump. Roughly three-quarters of voters overall this year believe democracy in the US is under threat, with only about one-quarter calling it secure. Nearly 4 in 10 say democracy is very threatened. And a wide majority of voters, about 7 in 10, say they're concerned about violence as a result of the election, as per CNN. (ANI)