Donald Trump has secured a fourth battleground state in the race for the White House, confirming his victory in the US election.
Mr Trump is projected to win the crucial swing states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Democrat Kamala Harris hoped to become the first woman US president – but there is now no route for her to the White House, with Mr Trump also ahead in all three of the other battleground states.
The pair went into the election neck and neck in the opinion polls and there were no major surprises in the early projected results.
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Wins were predicted for Mr Trump in red states such as Florida and Texas and for Ms Harris in Democrat strongholds including New York, California and Massachusetts.
The election was expected to come down to the seven battleground states as Mr Trump, 78, and Ms Harris, 60, look to hit the target of 270 electoral votes to become president.
NBC News says Mr Trump is projected to win Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and is leading in Arizona, Michigan and Nevada, although they are still too close to call.
The Democrats haven’t won in North Carolina since 2008, with Mr Trump taking the state by a margin of 74,483 votes or 1.3 points in 2020.
Georgia is a typical red state, where Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win, by a small margin in 2020, since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Concerns were growing within Ms Harris’s camp in the early hours of Wednesday, although her campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon told staff the race is “razor thin” but “exactly what we prepared for”.
Concerns in the Harris camp. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump claimed victory in a speech to his supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Ms Harris’s aides said she wouldn’t speak overnight.
NBC also projects the Republicans have taken control of the Senate from the Democrats with a forecast of 51 seats to 41, while the House, which is currently held by the Republicans, is still up in the air.
