Nov. 5 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump was projected early Wednesday to win a second term in office with 276 electoral votes, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump surpassed the 270 electoral votes necessary to become president after he was projected to win Wisconsin, netting him 10 electoral college votes, according to CNN, ABC and CBS News.
On his path to the White House Trump was also able to pick up the 16 electoral collge votes belonging to Georgia and 19 to Pennsylvania, according to projections from ABC, CNN and NBC News.
President Joe Biden had won both states in 2020.
Following projections that he would win Pennsylvania, Trump took to the stage at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort to claim premature victory as votes were still being counted.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” he said.
Several key battleground states, including Michigan, Nevada and Arizona, still remain in contention.
However, Trump was projected by CNN, CBS News and ABC News to pick up the battleground state of North Carolina, which was seen as a key target for both candidates this election after a tight contest in 2020. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter are the only Democratic candidates to win the state since 1968, with Obama winning it once in 2008. Trump won the state in 2020 by less than 1.5 points.
Trump is also projected to win in Ohio, Iowa, West Virginia, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and South Carolina, according to NBC News, CNN and CBS News.
Harris early Wednesday was projected to win New Jersey and Minnesota, according to ABC News, CBS News and NBC News.
News organizations CNN, NBC News and ABC News also projected her to take Colorado, Delaware, Vermont, New Mexico, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.
Massachusetts and Indiana each have 11 electoral college votes. Maryland awards 10 electoral college votes.
West Coast polls began to close at 11 p.m. EST, with California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho beginning to report.
CNN, ABC and CBS projected Harris to win California shortly after the polls closed. California has the most electoral college votes at stake of any state with 54. NBC, ABC and CNN are also projecting her to win Oregon and its eight electoral college votes, as well as Washington and its 12 votes.
Trump has sowed doubt in the election process again during his campaign for the White House. On Tuesday, he alleged cheating was occurring in Philadelphia hours before the first polls closed.
Trump’s claims follow a similar trend to what was seen in 2020. Months of unfounded claims of voter fraud and ballot dumps culminated in a riot at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. The former president has continued to cry foul throughout his third campaign for president.
“A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia,” Trump wrote. “Law Enforcement coming!!!”
Seth Bluestein, a Republican and city commissioner of Philadelphia, shot down Trump’s claim shortly after it was posted.
“There is absolutely no truth to this allegation,” Bluestein wrote on X. “It is yet another example of disinformation. Voting in Philadelphia has been safe and secure.”
The closing time for more than 10 polling locations in Georgia, including five in Fulton County, was extended after non-credible threats caused polling locations to evacuate temporarily. There have been about 30 bomb threats made against polling locations across the country on Election Day, including a voting services building in Pennsylvania. That location in West Chester is being searched by bomb-sniffing dogs Tuesday night. There was also a threat to a polling site in Arizona.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations released a statement saying many of the threats appear to be linked to Russia.
“The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” the statement said. “None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.”
Former President Barack Obama tempered the expectations for election night results in a post on X, recalling the days-long ballot counting process in 2020.
“It took several days to count every ballot in 2020, and it’s very likely we won’t know the outcome tonight either,” Obama posted. “So please keep a few things in mind as you make your voice heard today: Thousands of election workers around the country are working hard today. Respect them. Thank them. Don’t share things before checking your sources. Let the process run its course. It takes time to count every ballot.”
Five states that Trump won in 2016 were won by Biden in 2020: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, helping him earn 306 electoral college votes to Trump’s 232.
Biden received more than 81.2 million votes or about 51.3% of the vote, winning the popular vote and the electoral college. Trump received about 74.2 million votes or 46.8% of the vote.
Trump and Harris are watching the polls from locations familiar to them on election night.
The vice president is hosting an election night watch party in Washington, D.C., at her alma mater Howard University. Harris graduated from Howard in 1986. She will be joined by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The former president will be at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., with his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. The campaign is holding a watch party on Tuesday evening. The former president has held a number of events at his property.