This browser does not support the Video element.
null - While every state has votes in the Electoral College, all eyes are on seven critical swing states that will determine who the next U.S. president will be.
It takes 270 electoral votes to win the White House and the seven swing states have a collective 93 votes. As of early Wednesday, Trump has 267 electoral votes, and a win in Alaska or any of the outstanding battleground states — Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona or Nevada — would send the former Republican president back to the Oval Office.
RELATED: Watch live: Swing state election results
The latest:
Donald Trump winner of 2024 election (5:34 a.m. ET)
With the winning of Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes, Donald Trump is the winner of the 2024 presidential election with 277 electoral votes to Kamala Harris' 224.
Trump wins Wisconsin (5:34 a.m. ET)
Donald Trump has won Wisconsin, according to The Associated Press.
AP shares Decision Desk update on Michigan (5:30 a.m. ET)
The Associated Press shared an update from Michigan's Wayne County, saying Harris is continuing to cut into Trump’s lead.
Close to 240,000 votes trimmed Trump’s advantage to just under 2 points, according to the AP. Smaller updates that followed in a few places pushed it back to more than 2 points.
The race for the state’s 15 electoral votes is still too early to call, the AP says.
Trump claims victory, hails GOP Senate wins (3:05 a.m. ET)
Most of the important people in Trump’s personal and political life have joined him on stage in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Former first lady Melania Trump stood near her husband and was joined by Barron, the former president’s youngest son. Trump’s older children, Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka and Tiffany, all joined their father on stage, too.
Trump’s top political minds, including top campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, joined Trump on stage. And his political allies were on stage, too, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Trump also celebrated a few celebrities in the audience and on stage. Dana White, the CEO of UFC, was on stage with Trump, and the former president called golfer Bryson DeChambeau on stage. Trump also shouted out Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, who has become one of his most high-profile supporters. "We have a new star. A star is born: Elon," Trump said.
Trump also made sure to recognize the GOP wins of the night, as Republicans reclaimed majority in the Senate.
"The number of victories in the senate was absolutely incredible," Trump said.
Republicans have so far won 51 seats, giving them a majority. But Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada have not been called, and it’s possible Republicans could pick up more seats.
Trump wins Pennsylvania (2:25 a.m. ET)
Trump has won Pennsylvania, another key swing state, according to The Associated Press.
Where do the swing states stand so far? (1:57 a.m.)
Arizona: 51% of votes counted.
- Trump at 50.1%
- Harris at 49.1%
Georgia: 94% of votes counted.
- Trump at 50.9% (Winner)
- Harris at 48.4%
Michigan: 69% of votes counted.
- Trump: 52.2%
- Harris: 46%
Nevada: 78% of votes counted.
- Trump: 51.4%
- Harris: 47%
North Carolina: 98% of votes counted.
- Trump at 51% (Winner)
- Harris at 47.8%
Pennsylvania: 94% of votes counted.
- Trump 51%
- Harris 48%
Wisconsin: 89% of votes counted.
- Trump at 51.3%
- Harris at 45.9%
FOX News reports Trump as winner of presidential election (1:49 a.m. ET)
FOX News has declared Trump as the next president of the United States.
Trump wins Georgia (12:59 p.m. ET)
The Associated Press has called Georgia for Trump. This is the second crucial swing state that the former president has won so far.
New York Times calls Georgia for Trump (12:53 p.m. ET)
The New York Times has declared Georgia for Trump as 94% of votes have been counted. The NYT has Trump at 51% and Harris at 48%.
Where do the swing states stand so far? (11:54 p.m. ET)
Arizona: 50% of votes counted.
- Trump at 49.8%
- Harris at 49.4%
Georgia: 93% of votes counted.
- Trump at 50.8%
- Harris at 48.5%
Michigan: 43% of votes counted.
- Harris at 51.7%
- Trump at 46.5%
Nevada: Vote count has not started yet.
North Carolina: 90% of votes counted.
- Trump at 50.8% (Winner)
- Harris at 48%
Pennsylvania: 82% of votes counted.
- Trump 51.4%
- Harris 47.6%
Wisconsin: 75% of votes counted.
- Trump at 51.2%
- Harris at 47.3%
Trump wins North Carolina (11:20 p.m. ET)
The Associated Press has called North Carolina for Trump. With 89% of the votes counted, Trump won 50.8% of the vote, with Harris coming in at 48.1%.
Voting poll hours extended in some Arizona precincts (10:34 p.m. ET)
A judge has ordered polling places to remain open two extra hours in nine precincts in an eastern Arizona county after a rocky start to Election Day that included malfunctioning equipment and a lack of printed ballots.
Apache County Superior Court Judge Michael Latham agreed to keep the polls open at the request of the Navajo Nation, which filed a lawsuit asking for extended hours due to the problems.
Meanwhile, bomb threats to polling places at schools in neighboring Navajo County prompted some to close momentarily and one to evacuate and send students home for the day.
Authorities said they received email bomb threats at four locations in Navajo County, including at least three polling sites. They determined the threats were not credible.
What to watch in Nevada (10:24 p.m. ET)
Polls closed in Nevada at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. ET) and results could take a while since the state doesn’t release anything until the last person in line has voted.
First updates usually include mailed and early votes. The state will add mailed ballots that arrive through Nov. 9, and these have gone strongly Democratic in the past. In recent elections Nevada has added more than 15% of its vote after Election Day. In a closely-watched Senate race, Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen is facing Republican Sam Brown.
Where do the swing states stand so far? (10 p.m. ET)
Arizona: 4% of votes counted.
- Trump at 58.1%
- Harris at 41.1%
Georgia: 80% of votes counted.
- Trump at 52.2%
- Harris at 47.2%
Michigan: 16% of votes counted.
- Harris at 51%
- Trump at 47.2%
Nevada: Vote count has not started yet.
North Carolina: 66% of votes counted.
- Trump at 52%
- Harris at 47%
Pennsylvania: 44% of votes counted.
- Harris at 48.7%
- Trump 49.4%
Wisconsin: 36% of votes counted.
- Trump at 49.8%
- Harris at 48.7%
When do swing state polls close? (9:57 p.m. ET)
Arizona: 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT)
Georgia: 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT)
Michigan: Between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET (5 p.m. and 6 p.m. PT)
Nevada: 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)
North Carolina: 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT)
Pennsylvania: 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)
Wisconsin: 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT)
RELATED: What time do polls close in my state on Election Day 2024?
A woman watches the screen as members and supporters of the New York Young Republican Club hold an election night watch party at a bar in New York City on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (Photo by David Dee Delgado / AFP via Getty Images)
Georgia extends polling place hours after bomb threats (6:10 p.m. ET)
Voting hours have been extended at five polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County that were briefly closed earlier in the day because of bomb threats that were determined to be noncredible.
Each voting location’s hours have been extended for as long as they were closed. The extensions range from 10 minutes at one location to 45 minutes at two locations.
Philadelphia officials reject Trump's allegations of cheating (6:10 p.m. ET)
As the first polls began to close on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social account that law enforcement was responding to "massive cheating" in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Police and city officials have denied these claims, with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issuing a statement asking Trump for evidence.
"If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath."
Milwaukee ballot tabulator technical issues (5:21 p.m. ET)
Roughly 30,000 ballots in Milwaukee will have to be recounted, the city said on Tuesday afternoon, because of a tabulator issue.
City spokesperson Jeff Fleming said the tabulators were sealed – but the doors to those machines were not closed properly. The issue involved early absentee and in-person ballots and affected all 13 tabulators.
RELATED: Election Day 2024: Live updates
What’s a swing state?
Voters cast ballots at a polling location at the Thomasville Library during the last day of early voting in Thomasville, North Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A "swing state" in U.S. presidential elections is a state that could "swing" to either Democratic or Republican candidates. This means such candidates often make frequent campaign visits and spend a considerable amount of time and resources in an effort to win there.
Such states tend to be predictors of the overall presidential winner – such as Florida, which famously became the deciding state in the 2000 election between Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush and incumbent Democratic Vice President Al Gore.
RELATED: The 2000 presidential election and Florida recount: ‘Truly a crazy year’
Several other states have also been reliable indicators of overall results, according to USAFacts, a nonprofit site sharing easy-to-read government data.
Since 2000, five states — Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia — have matched the eventual winner in all but one presidential election, USAFacts said.
RELATED: Forget the swing states; here are the swing counties
What are the 2024 swing states?
The seven swing states in 2024.
Here are the seven swing states to watch in the 2024 presidential election.
Arizona (Electoral votes: 11)
Arizona’s high volume of early ballots dropped off on Election Day itself has historically delayed final results.
Georgia (Electoral votes: 16)
Georgia faces record turnout amid a high number of legal challenges that could impact vote processing.
Michigan (Electoral votes: 15)
Michigan's 2024 election will be the first time the state offers early voting during a presidential election, which officials hope will ease lines on Election Day.
Nevada (Electoral votes: 6)
Nevada allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up to four days after, which may delay final results
North Carolina (Electoral votes: 16)
North Carolina aims to report nearly all (90%) of its votes by midnight on Election Day, Nov. 5.
Pennsylvania (Electoral votes: 19)
In Pennsylvania, mail-in ballots cannot be processed until 7 a.m. on Election Day, leading to expected delays in results.
Wisconsin (Electoral votes: 10)
Wisconsin expects delays due to absentee ballot procedures and close races.