With dozens of states already calling, US President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are running neck and neck in key battlegrounds but the final results may not be announced for days.
The race to the White House is a nail-biter and numbers are too close to call in the deciding states to reach the 270 Electoral College votes. According to Fox News projections, Mr Trump scored a critical win in the battleground state of Florida, while Mr Biden was set to be the first Democrat to win Arizona since 1996.
The results are flowing in, with US media projecting wins for the Republican incumbent so far in 22 states including big prize Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas – all states Mr Trump won in 2016.
Mr Biden has captured 18 states including his home state Delaware and big prizes California and New York, as well as the US capital. As with Mr Trump, so far, Democrat Hillary Clinton won all states claimed by Mr Biden in 2016.
Mr Trump’s win in Florida highlights gains he has made in the Latino community and Cuban immigrants.
But in the key states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada, the results were too close to call. Four of these states are facing delays in counting the early votes submitted in record numbers in this election that could tilt the result in Mr Biden’s favour late in the day.
Short of outright declaring victory, Mr Trump tweeted to say, “we are up big” and declared it “a big win”.
But the Republican also reiterated comments he’s made in the days before the vote that Democrats are trying to steal the election.
“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed,” Mr Trump tweeted. Mr Trump’s comment was swiftly hidden by Twitter, which displayed a message saying “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and may be misleading about an election or other civic process,” as part of its measures to prevent fake information about the results being shared.
Biden claims he's 'on track to win'
Joe Biden addressed the public from Wilmington, Delaware, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. “Keep the faith, guys – we’re gonna win this,” he said in a short address.
Mr Biden said he believes he will win the key states of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan.
He added that, unexpectedly, he was “still in the game” in Georgia.
“We feel good about where we are,” said Mr Biden. “I’m optimistic.”
Mr Trump won Ohio and Iowa according to US media projections and Mr Biden won Virginia, New Hampshire and Minnesota. The current electoral vote count by Fox News has Mr Biden at 237 and Mr Trump at 210.
With Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania still counting and the results may take until Friday, according to the state officials, the race is unlikely to be settled in the next few hours. Pennsylvania will not start counting early votes until Wednesday morning local time.
Protests erupted in Portland and Washington, DC but have been for the most part peaceful.
