AP Reports Donald Trump Wins U.S. Presidential Election

After a whirlwind campaign season that transformed from a sleepy contest to a re-energized competition just months ago, Donald Trump has won at the polls in the 2024 presidential election, according to AP. The Republican candidate cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Though the election has been called, vote counting still continues in some key states.

“We’re going to help our country heal,” Trump said on election night. “We have a country that needs helps and it needs help very badly.” He also mentioned “fixing” borders and overcoming “obstacles no one thought possible.”

This historic match-up between the vice president – who is the first Black and first South Asian woman presidential nominee of a major party – and the former president saw candidates visiting (and re-visiting) swing states across the country as they vied for support from moderates and undecided voters. In the last week before the election alone, the candidates spent nearly $1 billion on political ads.

The vice president is expected to deliver a speech at Howard University in Washington D.C., her alma mater, a campaign co-chair confirmed to NBC News. Exactly when she would do so is unknown, according to reports.

“We still have votes to count,” campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond told NBC News. “We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to try to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken. So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight. But you will hear from her tomorrow, because she will be back here tomorrow to address not only the HU family, not only to address her supporters, but to address the nation.”

The “scope of Harris’ defeat” was reportedly “stunning” to Harris campaign professionals.  “I knew it was possible,” one senior campaign adviser told CNN of a Harris defeat. However, the person pointed out the fact that she was projected the winner in New Jersey, where she was only ahead of Trump by about 5 percentage points with most of the votes in, as clarifying.

Another source described the vibe among Harris campaign officials as “gloomy.” “Pennsylvania was the nail in the coffin.”

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, (who, as a millennial, will make history as the third youngest vice president of the U.S.) stated, on election night, that Trump’s victory represented “the greatest political comeback in American history.” He also posted a message of gratitude Wednesday morning after the win, stating he will “never stop fighting” for “ALL” Americans.

Supporters from both sides took to social to express their post-Election Day feelings.

As election results rolled in, Harris was set to spend election night at her alma mater, but did not appear. President Joe Biden watched the election results from the White House with his wife, First Lady Jill Biden.

Trump spent election night at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. The former president has dubbed the resort the “Winter White House” and officially moved from New York to Florida in 2019, citing tax reasons. According to The New York Times, Trump held several parties with varying levels of exclusivity, including a small dinner for donors and a smaller group to spend the evening with.

The battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were expected to be pivotal to either candidate reaching the minimum 270 electoral votes needed to win. Trump won votes in key battleground states.

Nearly every major poll conducted in those battleground states previously showed the race was a tossup between Harris and Trump, according toThe New York Times.

On Election Day, polling locations and poll workers faced challenges in areas that have faced natural disasters, including North Carolina, which was recently hit by Hurricane Helene. Others faced software issues like in Cambria County, Penn., where a malfunction prevented voters from scanning their ballots.

Nearly 80 million Americans cast their ballots early this year, which is likely to make the turnout in this election the highest in recent history, but short of the historic record set in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After voting for himself at the polls in Florida, Trump said this would likely be his last campaign.

Final vote tallies will continue past Election Day, even in states where the ballots are counted quickly. If the race is as close as polls say it is, it could take several days before a winner is officially confirmed. Harris has not officially conceded, as the votes are still being counted.