Trump Defies Exit Polls with Projected 178 Electoral Votes; Harris Falls Behind

Donald Trump has been projected as the winner in Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia and Kamala Harris in Vermont.

Vote counting has begun in the U.S. presidential election, with early projections showing Donald Trump leading in 14 states, while Kamala Harris has taken five. In terms of the decisive electoral college votes, Trump is currently projected to have 178, compared to Harris’s 99. Both candidates are racing toward the critical target of 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency.

These initial projections are largely based on states that traditionally lean Democratic or Republican, and do not yet include the seven key swing states—Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin—that are expected to play a pivotal role in deciding the 47th President of the United States. Both candidates have campaigned vigorously, with polls suggesting a tight race heading into Election Day.

Exit polls indicate that voters prioritized democracy, the economy, and abortion as their top issues. According to a CBS News poll, nearly six in ten voters ranked the state of democracy as their primary concern. The economy followed, with one in ten ranking it as their top issue, while abortion was highlighted by five percent of voters.

An exit poll by CNN said nearly three-quarters of the electorate holds a negative view of the way things are going in the US today. Only about a quarter said they were enthusiastic or satisfied with the state of the nation, with more than four in 10 dissatisfied and roughly 30% saying they are angry, according to the poll.