Everything we know about the US election results so far

Donald Trump has declared victory in the 2024 US election, claiming at least 295 electoral college votes, with an expected total of 312. Kamala Harris, who appeared competitive earlier in the evening, finished with 226 votes, 44 shy of the 270 needed to claim the presidency.

Trump has already won five of the seven swing states – Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – and leads in the remaining two, Arizona and Nevada.

The polls have closed and vote-counting continues.

So far, more than 139 million votes have been counted, with Trump leading Harris in the popular vote by almost 5 million.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.Credit: AP

What did the exit polls show?

Throughout election night a number of exit polls were published, with NBC showing that Trump’s favourability fell among white voters. This year, 49 per cent of white voters had a favourable opinion of Trump, compared with 57 per cent in 2020. It was a different story with Latino voters, with favourability at 42 per cent, up from 38 per cent. And 14 per cent of black voters had a favourable opinion of Trump, up from 10 per cent.

The poll also found democracy was the top issue that drove Harris voters to the polls, followed by abortion. Trump voters said the economy was their No.1 issue, followed by democracy. The candidates had been showing up constantly in swing states in the closing days of the campaign, but according to CNN’s exit poll, 80 per cent of voters had made up their minds before September.

CNN also found that Americans were very displeased, with 43 per cent of voters saying they were dissatisfied, and 29 per cent saying they were angry. Only 7 per cent said they were enthusiastic.

Polling on the favourability of presidential candidates by CNN found that 46 per cent had favourable opinions about Harris, while 42 per cent felt the same about Trump. Only 2 per cent liked both candidates, while 8 per cent liked neither.

The same polling also showed 47 per cent of voters thought Trump was too extreme, and 36 per cent felt this of Harris. Half of polled voters were either concerned or scared about Trump becoming president again.

What were the states to watch?

The seven key swing states tipped to provide a path to the presidency for either Harris or Trump were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all of which Trump performed well in.

Both candidates campaigned consistently in these states, but particular focus was placed on Pennsylvania in the final weeks of the campaign. The state was the biggest prize of the seven swing states, carrying 19 electoral votes. Joe Biden won the state at the 2020 election with 50 per cent of the vote. Trump won the state with 48 per cent in 2016. Though counting has yet to finish, Trump appears to have improved on his 2016 performance, raking in 50.5 per cent of the vote.

Trump held numerous rallies in the state, including on Monday (AEDT) when he said he “shouldn’t have left” the White House in 2020. It was also in Butler, Pennsylvania, that Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate the former president.

Harris held her final rally in the Democrat-friendly city of Philadelphia on election eve, Tuesday (AEDT), with performances from Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera.

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