Trump and Biden battle for the White House: live updates

President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are facing off in the battle for the White House Tuesday as results roll in across the U.S.

About half the states have been called but so far there have been no surprises. But we’re still waiting on results from Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and a slew of other battlegrounds.

To follow updates about the Senate race click here and we’ll have updates about House races here. 

Check for updates about the race for the White House below: 

Battleground states still counting votes

7:57 a.m. EST

 

Officials in contested states warned that votes are still being counted as of Wednesday morning and results are not official yet.

“An election doesn’t end when an elected official says they won—it ends when every vote has been counted,” tweeted Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D).

Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) said election officials there worked through the night counting votes.

“Hundreds of thousands of ballots in our largest jurisdictions are still being counted,” she tweeted.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) tweeted that state still has “over 1 million mail ballots to count.”

He also warned against partisan attacks “on Pennsylvania’s elections, our votes, and democracy.”

Biden wins Maine

3:20 a.m. EST

The Associated Press has projected a Joe Biden victory in Maine.

Biden wins Arizona 

3 a.m. EST

The Associated Press projected Joe Biden to win Arizona in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Biden will walk away with the state’s 11 electoral votes, giving him a leg up as the race narrows to a number of key swing states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. 

Biden’s win in the state makes him the first Democrat to win the Grand Canyon State since former President Clinton won in 1996.

Trump falsely declares victory

2:54 a.m. EST 

Trump falsely declared victory at 2:30 a.m. in the East Room of the White House despite hundreds of thousands of votes that have yet to be counted in a number of key battleground states.

“This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election,” Trump told the room, which was packed with supporters.

Trump went on to say that he would go to the Supreme Court to challenge the further counting of votes.
“We want the law to be used in a proper manner,” Trump said. “We will be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4 in the morning and add them to the list.”

A number of states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona have yet to be called in the election.

It is not unusual for states to count votes the day after the election. This year presents a particularly unique case with a higher volume of mail-in ballots, which take longer to count. 

Biden wins Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District 

1:40 a.m. EST

The Associated Press projects Biden will win the single electoral vote from Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. 

While the district only awards one electoral vote, it could end up making a difference in what many predict to be a tight election.

Trump takes Texas 

1:12 a.m. EST 

The Associated Press projected Trump wins the battleground state of Texas, putting a damper on Democratic hopes to flip the state in 2020. 

Trump lays claim to the state’s 38 electoral votes. 

Biden, Trump express optimism amid tight race

12:58 a.m. EST

Biden told his supporters he and his campaign believed they were on track to win the election, arguing mail-in ballots have yet to be counted.

“Your patience is commendable,” Biden told an audience of cars and supporters outside of the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“We knew this was going to go long, but who knew we were going to go into tomorrow morning, maybe even longer,” he continued. “We feel really good about where we are, we really do.”

“I am here to tell you tonight we believe we are on track to win this election,” he said.

Trump tweeted while Biden was speaking, accusing his political rivals of 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!” he tweeted.

The president also announced on Twitter that he would be delivering a statement on Wednesday.

Trump takes Florida

12:41 a.m. EST

Trump wins the battleground state of Florida, according to a projection from The Associated Press. Trump will walk away with the state’s 29 electoral votes, boosting him in the race to win the White House. 

The Associated Press also projected Trump winning Iowa, laying claim to that state’s six electoral votes. 

Race comes down to the “blue wall” 

12:26 a.m. EST

The outcome of the election appears to be hinging more and more on Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Trump flipped these states in 2016. But if Biden can rebuild the Democrats’ blue wall in the states, he will likely be elected the 46th president. 

The single delegates in congressional districts in Maine and Nebraska are in play, as well as the possibility of a 269-269 Electoral College tie.

Trump wins Ohio, Biden takes Minnesota 

12:18 a.m. EST

President Trump is projected to win Ohio, according to Fox News and NBC News. Trump will walk away with the Buckeye State’s 18 electoral votes. The victory for Trump in Ohio is significant as the presidential contest comes down to a select number of battleground states. 

Meanwhile, The Associated Press projects that Biden will win Minnesota, taking the state’s 10 electoral votes. 

Biden sweeps West Coast states, Trump wins Wyoming 

11:15 p.m. EST

The Associated Press projected Biden will California, Oregon, and Washington State. California is the biggest electoral prize of the night, with 55 electoral votes up for grabs. Oregon and Washington have 7 and 12 electoral votes, respectively. 

Trump is projected to win Wyoming and its three electoral votes, according to projections from CNN, NBC News and ABC News. Additionally, The Associated Press projects Trump to win Idaho and Utah, which respectively carry four and six electoral votes. 

Biden wins New Hampshire, Trump wins Missouri 

10:45 p.m. EST 

Biden is projected to win New Hampshire and its four electoral votes, according to ABC News and NBC News. The Associated Press projects Trump will win Missouri, taking the state’s 10 electoral votes. 

Trump wins Kansas, Biden takes Colorado

10:06 p.m. EST

The Associated Press projects Trump will win Kansas, taking its six electoral votes. Biden is projected to win Colorado and its nine electoral votes.

Trump takes another round of states, Biden wins New York and New Mexico

9:14 p.m. EST

Trump is projected to win Louisiana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and North Dakota, while Biden is projected to win New York and New Mexico, according to The Associated Press.

Biden projected to win swath of the Northeast, Southern states called for Trump

8:10 p.m. EST

The Associated Press has called Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey for Biden. The outlet also called Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina for Trump. 

Biden projected to win Virginia, West Virginia called for Trump

7:44 p.m. EST

The Associated Press has called Virginia for Biden and West Virginia for Trump. Neither projection is a surprise given the candidates’ respective polling leads in each state. 

First projections of the evening come in 

7:11 p.m. EST

The Associated Press has projected a Trump win in Kentucky, while CNN and NBC projected the president winning in Indiana. 

Biden also had his first win of the evening in Vermont, according to a projection from the AP.

Polls in Florida and Georgia close

7:02 p.m. EST

Polls in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia closed at 7 p.m. EST. Together the states carry a total of 70 electoral votes.

The tightest races are in Florida and Georgia. For the first time in decades, Georgia is competitive for Democrats. A Monmouth University poll released last week showed Biden with a 5-point lead over Trump in the state, 50 percent to 45 percent.

However, the race appears to be tighter in Florida, where the Trump campaign is banking on a victory. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Biden with a 0.9 percentage point lead.

First polls close in Indiana and Kentucky 

6 p.m. EST

Polls in Indiana and Kentucky closed at 6 p.m. EST, the first polls to close on election night. A record 100 million Americans voted early and tens of millions more lined up to vote at polling places across the country on Tuesday.

There are questions as to when results will be called due to massive mail-in voting and fears over whether the Postal Service will be able to handle the late rush of mail-in ballots.