Harris closing in on Trump's lead as more states close polling
3 Min Read
US Vice President Kamala Harris is catching up to Republican nominee Donald Trump, though he still maintains a sizeable lead.
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Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris look at election results during an election night campaign watch party Tuesday, November 5, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington (AP)
The US Presidential election is only getting more heated by the minute as former US President Donald Trump soars closer to the needed 270 electoral votes, with a projected 198 votes compared to Vice President Kamala Harris' 112.
Although the results are favoring Trump so far, the West Coast and the Northeast are known to be Democrat strongholds, and the voting is yet to conclude there with the race being too close to count thus far in areas where polls have already closed.
Thus far, Trump has garnered Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah.
The Republican, meanwhile, is leading in Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Vice President Harris, on the other hand, has won the states of Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Colorado, and New York.
She has the lead in Virginia, New Hampshire, Arizona, Michigan, and New Mexico.
Key states in this tight round of election include Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. If Harris loses any of these states, it could jeopardize her chances of becoming president.
Voter fraud?
Earlier today, when polling kicked off, Trump cast doubt on the integrity of the vote in Philadelphia, a critical city in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, as reports of exceptionally high voter turnout emerged.
The former president, who has previously made unsupported claims of election fraud in 2020, took to his Truth Social platform, alleging "massive cheating" in the city. However, his statement was swiftly denied by local officials, who called it "yet another example of disinformation."
Trump, who still rejects his loss in the 2020 election, has previously incited violence with baseless claims of widespread fraud. His supporters' assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, aimed to block the certification of the election result. With the 2024 election underway, the specter of further unrest looms, particularly if Trump challenges the outcome once again.
Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor, Josh Shapiro, who defeated 43 challenges to the 2020 vote count from Trump and his allies, rejected the allegations in a CNN interview last week.
When asked on Tuesday if he would accept a defeat in the 2024 election, Trump responded cautiously: "If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I would be the first one to acknowledge it. So far I think it's been fair."
