US ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES | Trump campaign sues to stop ballot count in Michigan

November 04 2020 - 22:01

'We are winning Pennsylvania big': Trump

November 04 2020 - 22:00

'Count every vote': Biden

November 04 2020 - 21:58

Seven states that are deciding the US presidential election

The US presidential election will be decided in seven states where votes are still being counted that could swing the outcome to either Republican President Donald Trump or his challenger Joe Biden.

Biden held a lead in four of the states that together award 43 Electoral College votes, which could just allow the Democrat to reach the 270 votes he would need to win, while Trump led in three that hold 51 Electoral College votes, which would push his total to 265.

November 04 2020 - 21:36

EXPLAINER: US election lingo, from naked ballots to a red mirage

Every US presidential election has its own lingo, like the "hanging chads" on voting cards in Florida that led to a landmark court battle in 2000.

November 04 2020 - 21:17

Trump campaign sues to stop ballot count in Michigan

The campaign of President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in Michigan to stop the counting of ballots in the presidential election.

"We have filed suit today in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted. We also demand to review those ballots which were opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access," the campaign said in a statement.

There is no clear presidential winner in the swing state, which has 16 electoral votes, according to Edison Research. Republican Trump's opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, has a razor-thin margin in Michigan, where 92% of the expected vote is in.

Trump's campaign is also demanding a recount in Wisconsin, another state where he is neck and neck with Biden.

Reuters

LISTEN | Donald Trump calls US elections a ‘major fraud

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November 04 2020 - 20:42

LGBT+ candidates score series of historic wins in US elections

LGBT+ candidates scored a series of historic wins in the US elections, including Sarah McBride becoming the first openly transgender person to win a State Senate seat.

At least 117 of a record 574 LGBT+ candidates on the ballot had won at the time of publication, nine of them trans, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which backs LGBT+ candidates.

"It's a huge milestone for members of the LGBTQ community," said Stephanie Byers, who became the country's first trans Native American state legislator in the Kansas House of Representatives."

Gender is no longer the only thing that someone sees when we run for office ... they also realise that we run more broadly, not just on LGBT issues," the 57-year-old retired music teacher told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

While data on other LGBT+ candidates is still emerging, other victors included Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones, respectively the first out gay Afro-Latino and Black men elected to Congress.

"Tonight's wins for LGBTQ people of colour and transgender Americans across the country are historic and long overdue," said Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the LGBT+ rights organisation GLAAD, in a statement.

"Their victories represent a leap forward for LGBTQ acceptance and a demand for more of the progress and equality that their very presence demonstrates."

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 20:38

Biden leads Trump in battleground Wisconsin; US election still undecided

 Democrat Joe Biden held a narrow lead in Wisconsin on Wednesday after officials completed their vote count in the pivotal state, a major boost in his quest to win the US presidency from Donald Trump despite the Republican incumbent's false claim of victory and unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.

Biden also led in another critical Midwestern battleground state - Michigan - as he and Trump raced to get to the 270 electoral votes in the state-by-state Electoral College needed to win the White House.

Trump won Wisconsin and Michigan in his 2016 election victory.

Wisconsin officials finished their tally at around midday after an all-night effort, showing Biden with a lead of just over 20,000 votes, or 0.6%, according to Edison Research. The Trump campaign immediately said it would seek a recount, which is permitted under state law when the margin is below 1%.

A Biden victory in Wisconsin would significantly narrow Trump's path to a second four-year term, though the outcome remained in doubt with Michigan and other closely contested states including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina still counting votes.

Trump led in the two Southern states, Georgia and North Carolina, as well as in Pennsylvania, where more than 1 million ballots were yet to be processed. 

Reuters

November 04 2020 0 19:55

Trump campaign will immediately request recount in Wisconsin

President Donald Trump's campaign will immediately request a recount of votes in Wisconsin, even though the state's presidential election results have yet to be finalized.

"There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results," campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement, without providing details of any reports.

"The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so."

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 19:30

Biden wins at least 3 of 4 of Maine's electoral votes

November 04 2020 - 19:23

TIMELINE: Which US states are still counting votes and when will they be done?

The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday as nine states continued to count ballots, including some of the most competitive battleground states where the tally could take days to complete.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a slight edge over incumbent Republican Donald Trump with 224 to 213 electoral votes. That leaves 101 electoral votes to be allocated, and possible paths to victory for both candidates. The winner needs to secure 270 votes.

November 04 2020 - 19:10

US election plagued by online misinformation about legitimate ballot counting

Online misinformation about the results of the US election continued to spread on Wednesday as President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory with millions of votes still to be counted and pushed unfounded allegations about the counting of legitimate ballots.

Twitter marked Trump's latest tweet, in which he claimed without evidence that "surprise ballot dumps" were aiding rival Joe Biden, as having content that was "disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.

"There is no evidence of ballot dumping and election experts say that fraud is very rare in US voting.In every US presidential election, officials normally take several days to process provisional and mail-in ballots.

The counting of additional ballots is no surprise, and neither is the swing to Biden, which was widely predicted and discussed extensively in the run-up to the vote - including by Reuters.

Facebook Inc and Twitter flagged multiple posts from the president as votes were still being counted, in a real-time test of their rules on handling misinformation and premature claims of victory.

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 19:07

Wall Street firms crave certainty about US election, hope for quick stimulus

With the US presidential election turning into a nail-biter, bankers, traders and financial analysts told Reuters on Wednesday that Wall Street was worried the ultimate winner could have tough sledding working with a divided Congress to fight the coronavirus pandemic and pass a quick economic stimulus package.

They spoke as several key states were still reporting tight margins between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

Though Biden has the lead, millions of votes still need to be counted and the outcome may not be certain for days.

Meanwhile, Congress looked to remain divided. Democrats maintained a firm grip on the House of Representatives which means Trump would probably have to compromise to pass legislation. 

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 19:04

Florida Latinos boost Trump's margin of victory in battleground state

A wave of support from Hispanic voters gave President Donald Trump a narrow but decisive victory in Florida on Tuesday night, helping him secure the state that has long been seen as a bellwether battleground.

Trump, who also won the state four years ago, outperformed his 2016 margins with Florida's Hispanics, who make up 19% of the state's voters. A lot of the swing came in Miami-Dade, the county that contains Florida's largest Cuban and Venezuelan communities.

Many Americans of Cuban and Venezuelan backgrounds left countries that they considered were ruined by socialist policies. 

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 19:02

Michigan secretary of state says expects unofficial vote count by end of day

Michigan, a key battleground state that will help determine who wins the US presidential election, is still counting "tens of thousands" of ballots and expects to have an unofficial tally by the end of the day, the state's secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, told reporters.

"We know that tens of thousands of ballots are still outstanding and need to be tabulated," she said in a news conference, including in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Kalamazoo and other cities.

Benson said she is optimistic the majority of ballots cast on or before Election Day will be tabulated in an unofficial count by the end of the day.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden is narrowly leading Republican President Donald Trump with about 96% of the votes tallied, according to the Detroit Free Press. 

Reuters

LISTEN | Donald Trump calls US elections a ‘major fraud

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November 04 2020 - 18:52

Biden said to have won Wisconsin

November 04 2020 - 18:18

'We believe we are on track to win this election' Biden

November 04 2020 - 18:16

'We won't rest until everyone's vote is counted' Joe Biden

November 04 2020 - 17:22

Twitter, Facebook warnings on US election hit both parties

Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc flagged some of President Donald Trump's posts on the US election as votes were still being counted, in a real-time test of their rules on handling misinformation and premature claims of victory.

Twitter also applied labels to posts by Democrat and Republican officials in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Florida, warning users that the information may be contested or inaccurate.

Social media companies have been under fierce scrutiny over how they police rapidly spreading false information and election-related abuses of their platforms. In the weeks before Tuesday's vote, both vowed action on posts by candidates trying to declare early victory.

Early on Wednesday, Twitter hid a Trump tweet that claimed "we are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election" behind a label that said it was potentially misleading. 

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 17:20

Oil rises after Trump falsely claims victory in tight US election

Oil prices rose on Wednesday but pared earlier gains after President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory in a tight US election with millions of votes still to be counted and the final result not yet clear.

A victory by Trump is viewed as bullish for oil because of sanctions on Iran and his support for Saudi-led oil production cuts to support prices.

A contested result and prolonged uncertainty is seen as the most bearish outcome for oil and markets in general, while a win for Joe Biden would be seen as bearish to neutral because of his support for green policies and softer stance on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate was up 40 cents, or 1%, at $38.06 a barrel by 1442 GMT. 

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 17:17

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declines to weigh in on US election

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday he would refrain from commenting on the still-undecided US presidential election until the outcome is clear.

Lopez Obrador, who has mostly sought to distance himself from the political campaign, added that he was encouraged that the peso currency did not appear to weaken in the immediate aftermath of the US vote.

Reuters

November 04 2020 - 17:09

Brazil's Bolsonaro says favours Trump win, refrains from calling winner

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday refrained from commenting on a potential US election victor, but reiterated his support for Donald Trump, and suggested Joe Biden would interfere on issues like protecting the Amazon rainforest if elected.

November 04 2020 - 17:08

US presidency still undecided; Biden bats away Trump's false victory claim

The US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday, with a handful of close-fought states set to decide the outcome in the coming hours or days, even as Donald Trump falsely claimed victory and made unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.

President Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden both still have possible paths to reach the needed 270 Electoral College votes to win the White House, as states keep counting mail-in ballots that surged amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Opinion polls had given Biden a strong lead nationwide for months, but they had shown closer races in battleground states, and the vote did not produce the stinging verdict against the Republican president that the Biden camp had hoped for.

November 04 2020 - 14:22

As America counts, the world holds its breath for US election outcome

A day after Americans voted in a bitterly contested election, the rest of the world was none the wiser on Wednesday, with millions of votes still to count, the race too close to call and a mounting risk of days or even weeks of legal uncertainty.

Donald Trump's pre-emptive declaration of victory at the White House was condemned by some US political commentators and civil rights groups, who warned about the trampling of long-standing democratic norms.

Most world leaders and foreign ministers sat on their hands, trying not to add any fuel to the electoral fire. "Let's wait and see what the outcome is," said British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 14:21

Trevor Noah pokes fun at 'undecided' Melania Trump: 'If he loses, she's just married to Donald Trump'

While the rest of the world waits anxiously to find out who will be the next elected president of the US, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah poked fun at the current first lady Melania Trump.

In a video clip on Twitter, Trevor weighed in on a MSNBC News report, where Melania could be seen walking on the streets of Palm Beach, Florida, after casting her vote.

“We just saw first lady Melania Trump at the polling site in West Palm Beach, Florida. She just finished casting her ballot, one would assume for her husband, in one of three crucial battleground states,” the MSNBC News reporter said.

November 04 2020 - 14:11

'Focus on your failing government'- Fikile Mbalula told to sit down over Trump election win prediction

“He should have kept quiet and focused on SA, not USA.”

This is one of the remarks from people who expressed their dismay with transport minister Fikile Mbalula after he predicted Donald Trump would win the US presidential elections.

The election will be decided this week as incumbent Republican president Trump goes up against Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

The two candidates need 270 electoral college votes to win. According to the live 2020 US election results, Biden is leading.

November 04 2020 - 14:01

Renewable energy, pot stocks top losers as election results leave Wall St hanging

Renewable energy and cannabis-related stocks, tipped to gain under a Joe Biden administration, were among the hardest hit on Wall Street on Wednesday, as traders adjusted to overnight results that left the presidential election hanging in the balance.

Tech stocks were the initial big winners as President Donald Trump won the key states of Florida and Ohio and confounded earlier poll readings in others, quelling the expectations of some market participants of a swift Biden victory.

Following are major movers as traders and investors in New York's main stock indexes digested the results. 

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 13:26

November 04 2020 - 13:19

Biden back as favourite to win election - online betting sites

Democratic candidate Joe Biden was back as favourite to win the US presidential election in online betting markets, a reversal of fortune for President Donald Trump who was favourite overnight, according to data from three aggregators.

The shift came after Biden overtook Trump in the battleground state of Wisconsin with an estimated 89% of the vote tallied so far.

Trump has 49% and Biden has 49.3% of vote, according to Edison Research.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 13:05

November 04 2020 - 12:54

In China, bemusement and scorn over unresolved US election

Chinese social media users watched election day in the US with bemusement and mockery, as President Donald Trump complained of a "major fraud on our nation" and falsely claimed victory before millions of votes had been tallied.

"Whether he wins or loses, his final mission is to destroy the appearance of American democracy," one user on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform wrote on Wednesday.

"Let Trump be re-elected and take the US downhill," another wrote, while a third likened his premature declaration of victory to claiming the pot in a game of mahjong before the round is finished.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:50

Finance executives fret as U.S. presidential vote too close to call

Global financial executives are waiting for a clear winner in the 2020 US election after President Donald Trump claimed foul play in the fight for the White House, stoking fears of a drawn-out count that will keep markets and businesses on edge.

While the Republican incumbent has handed the financial industry huge tax breaks and deregulatory wins, Trump's first term has also been marked by volatility and unpredictability, particularly in international trade.

Wall Street has leant to the left this election, with Democratic challenger Joe Biden outstripping Trump in financial industry fundraising.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:47

Dollar trims gains as US election race enters home stretch

The dollar gave up some gains and riskier currencies remained on the backfoot as markets waited for the US election outcome after early results indicated a tight race, surprising investors who had bet on a decisive win for Democrat Joe Biden.

President Donald Trump won in the key battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Texas, dashing market hopes for a clear result.

Investors waited to see whether Trump would retain the Rust Belt states — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — that sent him to the White House in 2016.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:40

US formally exits global climate pact amid election uncertainty

The US formally exited the Paris Agreement on Wednesday, fulfilling an old promise by President Donald Trump to withdraw the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the global pact to fight climate change.

But the outcome of the tight US election contest will determine for how long. Trump's Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has promised to rejoin the agreement if elected.

"The US withdrawal will leave a gap in our regime, and the global efforts to achieve the goals and ambitions of the Paris Agreement," said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:35

Republican incumbents hold off Democratic challengers for US Senate

Democrats picked up seats in Colorado and Arizona, and Republicans picked one up in Alabama in the battle for control of the US Senate in Tuesday's elections.

In Georgia, a Republican-held seat was now headed to a January runoff.

Elsewhere, Republicans held off Democratic challengers in five of the 14 most competitive races, bolstering their chances that they would retain a majority in the 100-seat chamber.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:29

US election betting odds point to 50-50 chance

Betting market odds on the US presidential election have begun to tighten once again after clearly flipping overnight in favour of Republican President Donald Trump over Democratic candidate Joe Biden, according to data from three aggregators.

British-based Smarkets exchange is giving Trump and Biden an almost an equal chance of winning as of 12:00am, with Trump sitting at a 51% chance.

The odds on Trump had risen to as much as 80% overnight. Odds for a Biden win have fallen to 49% from 61% on Tuesday.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:26

LGBT+ candidates surf rainbow wave to victory in US elections

LGBT+ candidates have surfed a rainbow wave to victory in the US elections as early results suggest a series of historic wins, including Sarah McBride becoming the first openly transgender person to win a State Senate seat.

At least 35 of a record 312 LGBT+ candidates on the ballot were estimated to have won as of early Wednesday, including Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones, respectively the first out gay Afro-Latino and Black men elected to Congress"Tonight's wins for LGBTQ people of colour and transgender Americans across the country are historic and long overdue," said Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the LGBT+ rights organisation GLAAD, in a statement.

"Their victories represent a leap forward for LGBTQ acceptance and a demand for more of the progress and equality that their very presence demonstrates."

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:20

Oil rises after Trump falsely claims victory in tight US election

Oil prices rose nearly 3% on Wednesday after President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory in a tight US election with millions of votes still to be counted and the final result not yet clear.

A victory by Trump is viewed as bullish for oil because of sanctions on Iran and his support for Saudi-led OPEC oil cuts to support prices.

A victory by his rival Joe Biden would be seen as bearish because of his green policies and softer stance on Iran. West Texas Intermediate was up $1.03 cents (R16.75), or 2.66%, at $38.69 (R629.34) a barrel by 11:55am.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:12

Twitter, Facebook face labelling test on Trump's election posts

Facebook  and Twitter flagged some of President Donald Trump's posts on the US election as votes were still being counted, in a real-time test of their rules on handling misinformation and premature claims of victory.

The two companies have been under fierce scrutiny over how they police rapidly spreading false information and election-related abuses of their platforms.

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday's vote, they both vowed to take action on posts by candidates trying to declare early victory.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:10

EXPLAINER | What might happen if US election result is disputed?

Despite incomplete results from several battleground states that could determine the outcome of the US presidential race, President Donald Trump proclaimed victory over Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Wednesday.

The premature move confirmed worries Democrats had voiced for weeks that Trump would seek to dispute the election results.

That could set off any number of legal and political dramas in which the presidency could be determined by some combination of the courts, state politicians and Congress.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 12:06

PM of Melania's homeland congratulates Trump on victory

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša congratulated Donald Trump on what he described in a tweet as a clear victory in the US presidential election, becoming the first European Union leader to do so.

"It’s pretty clear that American people have elected @realDonaldTrump @Mike_Pence for #4moreyears," said the leader of the tiny Alpine country, which is homeland of first lady Melania Trump.

"More delays and facts denying from #MSM, bigger the final triumph for #POTUS," tweeted Jansa, a rightist politician who had supported Trump ahead of the U.S. vote. "Congratulations @GOP for strong results across the #US."

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 11:47

These states are deciding the US presidential election

The US presidential election will be decided by a handful of states that could swing to either President Donald Trump, a Republican, or his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

These states play a critical role in delivering the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

Of the 13 states on this watch list, seven remain undecided, four have gone to Trump and two have gone to Biden. None of the decided states represent a change from the 2016 election.

November 04 2020 - 11:42

Finance executives fret as US presidential election too close to call

Wall Street and global financial executives are waiting anxiously for a clear winner in the 2020 US election after President Donald Trump called foul play, stoking fears of a drawn-out count that keeps markets and businesses hanging.

While the Republican incumbent has handed the financial industry huge tax breaks and deregulatory wins, his first term has also been marked by volatility and unpredictability, particularly in international trade.

November 04 2020 - 11:18

Oil steady after Trump falsely claims victory in tight US election

Oil was largely steady on Wednesday after President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory in a tight US election, despite millions of votes still to be counted and the final result not yet clear.

West Texas Intermediate was up 16 cents, or 0.4%, at $37.82 (R615.19) a barrel by 10:55am.

Brent crude was up by 24 cents, or 0.6%, at $39.95 (R649.84), after trading between $39.85 (R648.21) and $40.80 (R663.67).

November 04 2020 - 11:40

New Jersey, Arizona approve recreational marijuana, Florida raises minimum wage

Voters in New Jersey and Arizona legalized marijuana for recreational use on Tuesday, and in Oregon approved the country's first therapeutic use for psilocybin, the hallucinogenic drug known as magic mushrooms.

The measures were among at least 124 statutory and constitutional questions put to voters this year in 32 US states and the District of Columbia, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

November 04 2020 - 11:07

Investors brace for close US election result, long count

Investors rushed to adjust portfolios for a tighter and later U.S. election result than many had assumed before Wednesday, with pre-poll expectations of a clear Democratic party win in White House and Senate races looking wide off the mark.

Global stocks gyrated in early trade as results from Tuesday's national vote streamed in, with a final call now seen unlikely for days and the outcome raising the potential for gridlock that complicates the chance of a quick US government spending boost to counter the effects of the pandemic.

Republican President Donald Trump won the battleground of Florida and took the lead over Democratic rival Joe Biden in other US. swing states, but Biden voiced confidence he would win the election by taking three key Rust Belt states.

"Markets don't like ongoing uncertainty and not knowing the presidential result and a possible dragging out of that over a number of days and that environment looks likely," said James Athey, investment director at Aberdeen Standard Investments.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 10:34

Democrats falling short in bid for control of US Senate

A Democratic drive to win control of the US Senate appeared to fall short, with Democrats picking up only one Republican-held seat while six other races remained undecided early on Wednesday.

Democrats defeated Republican Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Martha McSally of Arizona but lost the Alabama seat held by Democratic Senator Doug Jones.

To win the majority in the Senate, Democrats would need to pick up three Republican seats if Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is elected president and Senator Kamala Harris wields the tie-breaking vote as vice president.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 10:21

Trump falsely claims victory, after rival Biden voices confidence

President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory over Democratic rival Joe Biden on Wednesday with millions of votes still uncounted in a tight White House race that will not be resolved until a handful of states complete vote-counting over the next hours or days.

Shortly after Biden said he was confident of winning the contest once the votes are counted, Trump appeared at the White House to declare victory and said his lawyers would be taking his case to the US Supreme Court, without specifying what they would claim."

We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election," Trump said. "This is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner. So we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop."

Polls have closed and voting has stopped across the country, but election laws in US states require all votes to be counted, and many states routinely take days to finish counting legal ballots.

More votes still stood to be counted this year than in the past as people voted early by mail and in person because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier in the evening, Trump won the battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Texas, dashing Biden's hopes for a decisive early victory, but Biden said he was confident he was on track to winning the White House by taking three key Rust Belt states.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 10:00

With Pennsylvania up in the air, one rural county goes big for Trump

As commissioners of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, worked to finish tallying the vote early on Wednesday, the only question was whether President Donald Trump would top the 84% support he received in the rural Republican stronghold in 2016.

The fate of the state - and Trump's chances in the national election - would be for others to decide."It will be a few days before we know Pennsylvania," said Randy Bunch, a county commissioner and Trump supporter, after confirming that Trump had won the county with 85.3% of the vote.

"It is what it is." Fulton County is Trump Country. In 2016, the Republican president's overwhelming victory there made it the "reddest" of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. Tuesday's result was a sign the coronavirus pandemic had not dented Trump's popularity in this south-central slice of the state.

Running up the score in areas like Fulton County has been seen as critical to Trump's chances in Pennsylvania, a battleground state also prized by Democratic challenger Joe Biden and which could ultimately determine the election.

November 04 2020 - 10:00

November 04 2020 - 09:54

Confidence and irritation at White House as Trump team awaits election results

President Donald Trump's aides pored over election maps in the White House West Wing and cheered their candidate in the East Room as Election Day results in critical states such as Florida and Ohio came in favoring the Republican leader on Tuesday.

But their cautious confidence took on irritation when Arizona, a state that backed Trump in 2016, was called by Fox News for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, said sources familiar with the situation who asked not to be named.

The president, who earlier in the day visited staff at his campaign headquarters in nearby Virginia, watched election returns with his family in the upstairs living room of the White House residence.

“He’s calm, chilling,” said a source familiar with the scene. “He’s in the hunt.”As a tight White House race came down to a handful of states where vote-counting could take hours or days, Trump's wife, Melania, along with his adult children and their spouses moved in and out of the room.

Downstairs and in the West Wing, aides played with election maps on their computers to gauge Trump's potential path to achieving the 270 electoral votes he would need to secure re-election.

"We feel good," said one senior Trump adviser, who expressed both frustration that Florida was not called for the president earlier in the night as well as optimism about his chances in Michigan and Nevada."Good.

But nervous," White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said of the mood among Trump's circle. 

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 09:34

Election results for counties watched by Wall Street

Wall Street investors, hunting for clues on who will win the US presidential race, are looking at the election results in a few dozen counties that could be indicative of broader trends

November 04 2020 - 09:21

LIVE: President Donald J Trump

Experts give analysis | 2020 US Presidential election

Americans took to the polls yesterday to choose between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Jane Dutton talks to Rachel Silverman in California and Professor Anthoni Van Nieuwkerk from the Wits School of governance.

November 04 2020 - 09:00

Biden confident, Trump accuses Democrats of trying to steal tight White House election

Democrat Joe Biden said he was confident of victory and President Donald Trump accused Democrats of trying to steal the election on Wednesday as a tight White House race came down to a handful of states where vote-counting could take hours or days.

Trump won the battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Texas, dashing Biden's hopes for a decisive early defeat of the president, but Biden said he was on track to winning the White House by taking three key Rust Belt states.Biden, 77, was eyeing the so-called "blue wall" states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that sent Trump, 74, to the White House in 2016 for possible breakthroughs once those states finish counting votes cast earlier by mail and in person.

In Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and much of Michigan, mail-in ballots were not processed until Election Day on Tuesday.

"We feel good about where we are," Biden said in his home state of Delaware, shouting over a din of supporters in cars honking their horns in approval.

-Reuters

November 04 2020 - 07:59

November 04 2020 - 07:17 

Trump leads in Florida and other vital battlegrounds, Biden pins hopes on 'blue wall'

US president Donald Trump was leading Democratic rival Joe Biden in the vital battleground state of Florida on Tuesday and in several other competitive swing states that will help decide the election, including North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

November 04 2020 - 05:58