People in Times Square in Manhattan on election night. Karsten Moran for The New York Times |
As votes are counted, Trump takes key swing states
As of early this morning, with votes still being counted, Donald Trump was ahead in the race to be the next president of the United States. His fellow Republicans won control of the Senate. Here’s the latest.
In every state where most votes had been counted, Trump’s performance was stronger than in 2020. He secured victory in Georgia and North Carolina, two critical swing states.
To win, Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, would probably need to sweep Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump had an advantage in all three states.
If Trump is elected president for a second time, it will be a stunning political comeback for a man who less than four years ago was impeached for his role in a violent attack on Congress. He would be the second-ever president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first to be elected after being convicted of a felony.
Analysis: Unhappiness with the country’s direction and with President Biden’s performance, especially on the economy and immigration, appears to have been a crucial factor in the results.
Forecast: “While it might be several hours until the race can be called, our estimates say Donald Trump is very likely to win the presidency,” Nate Cohn, our chief political analyst, writes.
An observer watches ballot counters at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, Wis. Jim Vondruska for The New York Times |
Analysis from The Times’s newsroom
Times reporters across the United States delivered news and analysis as results rolled in. Here’s the latest.
“The Republican turnout machine — largely powered by allied conservative groups — focused on getting reliably conservative voters back to the polls for Trump,” Maya King reported. “It appears their strategy was successful in Georgia, where the G.O.P. notched wins at the presidential level and in a handful of competitive state House seats.”
“The Trump team, which is gathered at Mar-a-Lago, is jubilant,” Jonathan Swan reported. “While we are still waiting on results from the Blue Wall states — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — Trump advisers see signs they could sweep all seven of the battleground states.”
“The Harris campaign just shut off the sound on the TVs at her watch party and replaced it with music after a guest on CNN said tonight felt ‘more like 2016 than 2020,’” Nicholas Nehamas reported late last night. “The crowd has significantly thinned here and the mood feels seriously downcast.”
From Opinion: Catch up on analysis and debate from Times columnists and writers.
Questions from readers: Should Harris have gone on Joe Rogan’s show? Will another Trump victory lead to a reckoning among Democrats? Ezra Klein and Ross Douthat tackled the night’s big issues.
To Whom It May Concern: “Put bluntly, many if not most Americans dislike or distrust you.” Read an open letter from Bret Stephens, a Times opinion columnist, to whichever candidate wins the White House.
The view from the markets
As the first results trickled in, stock markets in Asia edged higher, the dollar rose against major currencies and U.S. Treasury yields climbed as investors reacted to the early returns in the presidential election.
Bitcoin set a record high of more than $75,000, reflecting optimism among cryptocurrency investors about the prospect of another Trump presidency.
On Wall Street: Investors expect stocks to gain today as markets emerge from the uncertainty of the campaign — provided that there is a clear winner.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING |
Nir Elias/Reuters |
Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant. He replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister. The move sparked protests across the country. |
Ukraine: North Korean troops clashed for the first time with Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, officials said. |
Royals: Queen Camilla canceled engagements this week after contracting a chest infection, Buckingham Palace said. Spain: As of yesterday, 89 people were still unaccounted for a week after catastrophic floods devastated parts of the country. Ireland: The prime minister has announced plans to call a general election by the end of the week. Tech: In a policy shift, Meta will allow U.S. government agencies and contractors working on national security to use its A.I. for military purposes. Health: Two cases of the newer type of mpox have been detected in Britain, but the authorities said the risk of a rapid spread remained low. Labor: Members of Boeing’s largest union approved a new contract, ending a weekslong strike. U.K. politics: Kemi Badenoch, the new leader of the Conservative Party, exemplifies its rightward turn and a new, unpredictable era. Sabotage: Russia has been plotting to place incendiary devices on cargo planes in Europe and even performed a test run this summer, Western officials said. Wall Street: Investment titans chased billions of dollars of Saudi oil cash at a recent confab in Riyadh. |
SPORTS NEWS |
Soccer: Real Madrid has hired the former futsal coach Marcelo Serpa Coelho to join Juni Calafat’s scouting team.Tennis: Novak Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Tour Finals because of an injury.Football: The latest deals, grades, rumors and news from the N.F.L.’s trade deadline. |
MORNING READ |
Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times |
Kamala Harris made history as the first Black woman to lead a major party into a presidential election, but she did not make her identity a centerpiece of her campaign — and polling suggested that she was on track to receive less support from Black men than President Biden did four years ago.
At polling stations across the U.S., Black voters cited a range of issues informing their decisions, including the economy, reproductive rights, criminal justice and Donald Trump’s character.
ARTS AND IDEAS |
Todd Heisler/The New York Times |
What democracy looks like
Graceann Toberman has counted the votes in Magnolia, a farming community of 734 people in rural Wisconsin, for decades.
Early voting followed a simple routine: Toberman checked the voter’s photo ID, gave them a ballot and an envelope, and then scooted to the other end of the kitchen to give them a little privacy at her table. The ballot was then stashed in a safe ahead of the count.
Only one person has approached Toberman with concerns about the security of elections. She explained how ballots are collected and stored, and the near-impossibility of tricking the system. The person came away satisfied with her explanation. “I’ve been doing this quite a few years,” Toberman said. “They know me.”
RECOMMENDATIONS |
Christopher Testani for The New York Times |
Cook: “I’m an experienced Indian cook,” a reader writes, “and this is the best butter chicken I have ever had.”