Donald Trump has won the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state and one of the biggest prizes in the race for the White House.
The call by the Associated Press comes shortly after Trump captured the swing states of North Carolina and Georgia, crushing Kamala Harris‘ momentum and setting himself up well to capture the necessary 270 votes to win.
Trump now must capture only one more swing state to clinch victory.
After losing Pennsylvania to President Joe Biden in 2020, Republicans poured significant resources into the commonwealth in an effort to repeat Trump’s 2016 upset that helped him jump ahead of failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Pennsylvania has the fifth-largest number of electoral votes in the United States with 19 and is seen as vital in an Electoral College victory for either winner.
Harris performed worse than expected in the commonwealth.
Her decision not to choose Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate may have hurt her in her final effort, despite criticism from Democrats who thought it would help her win the state.
Harris made her final push in Pennsylvania on election eve, holding three rallies in the commonwealth and concluding her campaign in Philadelphia with Oprah, Lady Gaga, and a host of celebrities.
‘This could be one of the closest races in history. Every single vote matters,’ Harris told the crowd in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the state that could ultimately decide the election.
Oprah issued a threat similar to one Trump fan Elon Musk put out from the opposite side of the aisle: that democracy is on the brink if the other candidate wins.
‘If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again,’ Winfrey said.
She added: ‘All the anxiety and the fear you’re feeling, you’re feeling that because you sense the danger.’
Republicans, also aggressively pursued problematic voting issues in polling places, filing legal challenges to keep the voting honest.
The Republican National Committee filed legal challenges in Cambria County after voting machines were not working properly.
In other counties, Republicans engaged with local polling places to ensure that Republican poll watchers were allowed access to the counting process.
There is also a tight Senate race between Democrat Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick.
It was too close to call as of 1:30 am on November 6.
Biden, originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, used his working-class roots to appeal to the electorate even though he moved to Delaware as a young boy.
But when he dropped out of the reelection race in July, the Democrats’ hopes of winning the state plummeted.
With 95 percent of the vote in, Trump leads the state with a margin of 193,539.
Harris failed to match Biden’s performance in 2020, particularly in counties where Biden held wide margins against Trump.
In Lackawanna County, which contains Scranton, Pennsylvania, Harris failed to match Biden’s 2020 margin of eight points and only posted a three point margin against Trump in 2024.
This post was originally published on here
