NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — A polling station in New York City closed its doors just after 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT) on Tuesday (November 8).
Republican Donald Trump held slight leads in the vital battleground states of Florida, Virginia and Ohio on Tuesday, clinging to a narrow advantage over Democrat Hillary Clinton in key states that could decide their race for the White House.
With voting completed in more than two-thirds of the 50 U.S. states, the race was too close to call in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Virginia, states that could be vital to deciding which contender wins the presidency.
Both candidates scored victories in states where they were expected to win. Trump captured conservative states in the South and Midwest, while Clinton swept several states on the East Coast and Illinois in the Midwest.
But Trump’s slight edge in Florida, Virginia and Ohio gave him an early advantage in the state-by-state fight for 270 Electoral College votes needed to win.
Clinton had more options to reach 270, with Trump needing a virtual sweep of about six toss-up states to win. But a Trump win in Florida, Ohio and Virginia would put intense pressure on Clinton to win every other battleground state.
With 91 percent of the vote counted in Florida, Trump led Clinton by about 140,000 votes out of 8.6 million cast.
As of 9:15 p.m. EST, Trump had 125 electoral votes to Clinton’s 104, with U.S. television networks projecting the winner in 24 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
