US election results: Who is winning presidential race

MAIN UPDATE AT THIS MOMENT

• Voting has concluded in seven states in the US
• According to exit poll data, 44% of voters view Donald Trump positively, while 48% view Kamala Harris favorably.
• Harris holds a narrow lead in exit polls in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, while Trump leads in Nevada and Pennsylvania, with Georgia showing a tie.
• Trump has 178 electoral votes, while Harris has 99, out of the 270 needed to win.

5:15 With 51% of the votes counted in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump has surpassed Kamala Harris. Trump is now leading with 51% of the votes, while Harris has 48%.

5:12 Different American media outlets are reporting varying results on the election outcomes. Each media outlet independently decides when it is appropriate to call a state for Trump or Harris, leading to discrepancies in the reported numbers.

For instance, according to The New York Times, Trump has accumulated 198 electoral votes, while Harris has 109.

The Washington Post also gives Trump 198 votes, but Harris has 99.

NBC News reports Trump with 201 electoral votes, and Harris with 91.

CNN, on the other hand, gives Trump 172 electoral votes, and Harris 81.

5:07 The New York Times gives Trump a 73% chance of winning the election.

4:45 The vote count continues in five key battleground states.

In Georgia, 77% of the votes have been counted, with Trump leading at 52% and Harris at 47%.

In North Carolina, 55% of the votes have been counted, with Trump at 51% and Harris at 48%.

In the crucial state of Pennsylvania, 35% of the votes have been counted, with Harris at 51% and Trump at 48%.

In Michigan, 13% of the votes have been counted, with Harris at 53% and Trump at 45%.

In Wisconsin, 31% of the votes have been counted, with Harris at 51% and Trump at 48%.

4:41 So far, all the declared results in the states fully align with pre-election forecasts, with Harris and Trump winning in the states they were expected to. In the swing states, as anticipated, the gap is minimal. The only potential surprise so far could occur in Virginia, which was considered reliably Democratic before the election. However, after 60% of the votes have been counted, Trump is currently ahead of Harris, with 50% of the votes compared to her 48%.

4:18 The winner has already been determined in half of the US states. Harris has won in eight states, while Trump has won in 17 states. Current results map.

4:07 Meanwhile, CNN has awarded Trump the victory in the large state of Texas, with 40 electoral votes.

4:05 Trump wins in the large state of Texas, which has 40 electoral votes, as well as in several other Midwestern states, further increasing his lead.

4:00 Polls have closed in 15 more states, including the key battleground states of Arizona and Wisconsin.

3:58 Trump's campaign believes that election night is currently working in our favor, reports FoxNews. Specifically, Republicans are confident in the high turnout from rural voters who support Trump, as well as the strong turnout from their supporters in the crucial state of Pennsylvania.

3:50 Kamala Harris continues to narrow the gap with Donald Trump. She has been declared the winner in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Illinois. The current tally stands at 101 for Trump and 71 for Harris. The latest election results map is available.

3:45 Harris's campaign told CNN that the winner of the election could be determined in the coming days. However, they are preparing for the possibility of legal challenges in disputed states, which could take four to six weeks.

3:39 At the same time, Harris has predictably won in New Jersey and Delaware.

3:34 Donald Trump continues to build on his lead, having been declared the winner in Arkansas, where polling stations have just closed. However, both candidates are winning the states where they were expected to secure victories before the election.

3:04 Polling stations have closed in 16 more states in the US. The current map of preliminary election results is now available.

2:37 Polling stations have closed in another contested state - North Carolina. The winner in the state is expected to be determined very quickly.

2:34 Trump has been declared the winner in West Virginia. The current voting map of the UІ shows these results.

2:22. After counting 59% of the votes, Trump leads Harris in Florida with 56% to 43%.

2:07. The New York Times has declared Trump the winner in Indiana, which has 11 electoral votes.

2:01. The first results are in. CNN awarded Donald Trump victory in Kentucky, which has 8 electoral votes, while Kamala Harris was declared the winner in Vermont, securing 3 electoral votes.

The electoral campaign in the US has come to an end - on November 5, millions of Americans will head to the polls to vote for their presidential candidate. However, tens of millions of voters in the US have already taken advantage of other options, casting their votes early or mailing in ballots. Results from states where one candidate has a clear advantage are expected to be known just a few hours after the polls close, around 6:00 a.m. Kyiv time, considering the differences in time zones.

This presidential election in the US is considered one of the least predictable in many years, as both candidates maintain roughly equal chances of winning.

First results

Voting is in full swing, and most Americans are just preparing to cast their ballots. Meanwhile, in the tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, all voters have already participated in the election. The voting included four Republicans and two independent voters. Three voters supported Harris, while three backed Trump.

Candidate ratings

In the US election, there are two key candidates: Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party and Donald Trump from the Republican Party. In recent months, they have been actively campaigning to sway undecided voters in their favor.

However, polls indicate that their ratings remain tied within the margin of error. This situation is consistent both nationwide and in key swing states. According to a poll conducted by NBC from October 30 to November 2, both Harris and Trump have 49% support.

Other polls provide very similar results, as do various mathematical models used to predict election outcomes. For more details on candidate ratings nationwide and in individual states, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.

In this context, the fate of the election could be decided by just a few thousand votes, despite the total population of the US, including those ineligible to vote, exceeding 330 million.

When will the election results be available in individual states

In the US, votes are counted not manually but using specialized machines, so the results at polling places are often known within hours after voting concludes.

Media outlets are typically the first to announce the winner of the presidential election in the US. They gather and summarize information from individual states. The electoral system in the US is unique, as citizens formally vote not directly for a candidate but for electors who are then expected to choose the president. Thus, de facto, separate election is held in each state.

Polling hours vary across states, but they generally operate from 5:00-7:00 a.m. to 6:00-8:00 p.m. Past election suggests that preliminary results regarding the winner could be available around 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time (6:00 a.m. Kyiv time).

Vita Dumanska, a coordinator for the Chesno movement and an observer at one of the polling stations in the US, commented on the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel that the results of this election will not be known tonight. Instead, the counting process in some states could take weeks or even longer.

"Local experts say that official results may come by the end of November, and some suggest that if there are any problematic issues, it could stretch to Christmas," Dumanska stated.

What could delay the vote count

Early voting is popular in the US. Voters can either go to the polling station in advance, vote by mail, or in some states, vote via email. As of November 3, over 75 million Americans have cast their ballots. Different states have varying procedures for counting mail-in votes. In some states, these ballots can be counted in advance, while in others, they can only be counted after the polls close on Election Day. The counting of such ballots may delay the announcement of results. This could take not just hours, but days or even weeks, especially if candidates begin to challenge the results in court.

Earlier, it was reported on the positions of Trump and Harris regarding support for Ukraine.

Also, read about how the swing states might determine the outcome of the US election and why candidates pay so much attention to them.

For more updates on the presidential campaign, candidate ratings, and the underlying issues of the electoral system, follow the US Elections section on RBC-Ukraine.

The article was based on data from us.gov, NBC surveys, and information about the US political system from open sources.