Trump and Harris await results with battleground polls closing
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris notched early wins in reliably Republican and Democratic states, respectively, as a divided America made its decision in a stark choice for the nation鈥檚 future Tuesday.
Polls closed in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada, the seven closely fought battlegrounds expected to decide the election, but the results there were too early to call. Voting continued in the West on Election Day, as tens of millions of Americans added their ballots to the 84 million cast early as they chose between two candidates with drastically different temperaments and visions for the country.
Trump won Florida, a one-time battleground that has shifted heavily to Republicans in recent elections. He also notched early wins in reliably Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Indiana, while Harris took Democratic strongholds like New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.
Black and Latino voters appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Joe Biden four years ago, and Trump鈥檚 support among those voters appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020, according to AP VoteCast.
The fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Harris鈥� supporters, a sign that the Democratic nominee鈥檚 persistent messaging in her campaign鈥檚 closing days accusing Trump of being a fascist may have broken through, according to the expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. It also found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change. Trump鈥檚 supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation 鈥� two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign.
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The Latest: Trump and Harris win reliable states while voters await battleground results
As the United States awaits a winner in the presidential race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, polls have closed in six of the seven closely fought battleground states expected to decide the election. In the race for Senate control, Republicans picked up a crucial win in West Virginia, deadlocking the chamber in a 50-50 split, for now. Republicans headed into Election Day with a razor鈥檚-edge lead in the House, majority control in that chamber will come down to just a handful of races.
Follow the AP鈥檚 Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Here鈥檚 the latest:
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament on Wednesday that his government will forge a strong partnership with whoever becomes U.S. president.
鈥淭he election of a new President of the United States is always a moment of profound consequence for the world, for our region and for Australia,鈥� Albanese said.
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Early election takeaways: Next president will lead fractured nation
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Even with the outcome uncertain Tuesday night, the 2024 presidential election already has exposed the depths of a fractured nation as the candidates navigated a political realignment based on gender, class and age under the near-constant threat of misinformation and violence.
Not since the 1968 election, when the nation was torn over racial strife and the Vietnam war, has the divide seemed so apparent.
But the biggest conclusions so far may be the most obvious.
The United States is poised to elect either its first female president in Vice President Kamala Harris or its first president with a felony conviction in former president Donald Trump, whose enduring political strength through chaos 鈥� much of it his own making 鈥� has carried few political costs so far.
With votes still being counted across the country, here are some early takeaways:
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Republicans pick up a seat toward Senate majority and Democrats play defense in 'blue wall' states
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Republicans flipped one Senate seat to deadlock the chamber Tuesday, while House races unfolded in a state-by-state slog and polls closed in key states that could decide control of Congress.
Early in the evening, West Virginia Republican Jim Justice won the Senate seat opened by Sen. Joe Manchin's retirement, and Republicans quickly dispatched a late challenge by Democrats in Florida as Republican Sen. Rick Scott sailed to reelection after pouring millions of dollars of his own wealth into the campaign.
In Ohio and the Democratic 鈥渂lue-wall鈥� states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Democrats fought to salvage what鈥檚 left of their slim hold on the Senate.
The Ohio race between Sen. Sherrod Brown and wealthy Trump-backed Bernie Moreno is the most expensive of the cycle, at some $400 million.
And in Nebraska, attention turned suddenly to a state that vaulted to importance with competitive races in both the House and the Senate, where independent newcomer Dan Osborn challenged incumbent GOP Sen. Deb Fischer.
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Bomb threats briefly disrupt voting in swing states as Trump makes baseless Election Day claims
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A mostly smooth Election Day nationwide was marred in multiple battleground states Tuesday by a series of bomb threats and baseless claims of wrongdoing by former President Donald Trump.
The bomb threats in parts of Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania turned out to be hoaxes, but forced evacuations and some polling places to extend hours.
The threats were reported throughout the day at polling locations in three metro Atlanta counties, all with large numbers of Democratic voters, and into the evening at polling places and election offices where ballots were being counted in Pennsylvania. Bomb threats also were reported at three voting locations in Navajo County, Arizona, according to the secretary of state鈥檚 office.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an evening news conference that the hoaxes posed no danger to the public 鈥� or to the election. 鈥淓very legal, eligible vote will be counted and counted accurately, and the will of the people in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be respected," said Shapiro, a Democrat.
Neither Shapiro nor Pennsylvania State Police gave details about who might be behind the hoaxes or why Shapiro believed there was no threat to the public.
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Abortion rights supporters lose on Florida ballot measure, but win in 3 other states
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Voters defeated a measure to add abortion rights to the Florida state constitution on Tuesday but sided with abortion-rights advocates on ballot measures in Colorado, Maryland and New York.
Results were still pending in six other states with abortion measures on the ballot.
Most voters supported the Florida measure, but it fell short of the required 60% to pass constitutional amendments in the state. Most states require a simple majority. The result was a political win for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that will keep in place the state鈥檚 ban on most abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy.
It鈥檚 the first ballot measure victory for abortion opponents in any state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a decision that ended the nationwide right to abortion and opened the door to bans in most GOP-controlled states, protections in Democrat-dominated ones and new political and legal battles across the country.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the result is 鈥渁 momentous victory for life in Florida and for our entire country,鈥� praising DeSantis for leading the charge against the measure.
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Marijuana legalization fails in Florida as numerous states approve citizen voting amendments
A costly campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida failed Tuesday as voters in dozens of states weighed more than 140 measures appearing on the ballot alongside races for president and top state offices.
Florida was one of several states deciding high-profile marijuana measures and was among 10 states considering amendments related to abortion or reproductive rights. About two dozen measures are focused on future elections, including several specifically barring noncitizens from voting. Other state measures affect wages, taxes, housing and education, including a school choice measure that was defeated in Kentucky.
Many of the ballot measures were initiated by citizen petitions that sidestep state legislatures, though others were placed before voters by lawmakers.
The Florida marijuana amendment fell short of the 60% supermajority needed to approve constitutional amendments. It would have allowed recreational sales of marijuana to people over 21 from existing medical marijuana dispensaries, with the potential for the Legislature to license additional retailers.
The campaign was funded predominantly by Florida鈥檚 largest medical marijuana operator, Trulieve, which had provided almost $145 million of the $153 million campaign through the end of October. The measure was opposed by the Florida Republican Party and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said it would reduce the quality of life by leaving a marijuana stench in the air.
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AP VoteCast: Harris voters motivated by democracy, Trump supporters by inflation and immigration
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Voters for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump who cast their ballots for Tuesday鈥檚 presidential election had vastly different motivations 鈥� reflecting a broader national divide on the problems the United States faces.
AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 115,000 voters nationwide, found that the fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Vice President Harris鈥� supporters. It was a sign that the Democratic nominee鈥檚 messaging in her campaign鈥檚 closing days accusing Trump of being a fascist may have broken through.
By contrast, Trump鈥檚 supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation 鈥� two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign. Trump has pledged that tariffs would bring back factory jobs and that greater domestic oil production would flow through the economy and lower prices.
Overall, the presidential candidates鈥� coalitions, based on race, education and community type, appeared largely similar to the 2020 results. Preliminary AP VoteCast findings, however, hinted at some shifts among demographic groups that could be meaningful for the ultimate outcome, including among younger, Black and Hispanic voters.
Voters鈥� conflicting views on key priorities set up a challenge for whoever ultimately wins the election to lead the world鈥檚 premier economic and military power. Voters saw the qualities of each candidate differently. They were more likely to describe Trump as a strong leader than they were Harris, but she had an edge over him on being seen as having the moral character needed to be president.
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Israel's Netanyahu dismisses his defense minister as wars rage. Protests erupt across country
JERUSALEM (AP) 鈥� Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region. The move sparked protests across the country, including a mass gathering that paralyzed central Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival before taking the step as the world's attention was focused on the U.S. presidential election. Netanyahu cited 鈥渟ignificant gaps鈥� and a 鈥渃risis of trust" in his Tuesday evening announcement as he replaced Gallant with a longtime loyalist.
鈥淚n the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defense minister,鈥� Netanyahu said. 鈥淯nfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defense minister.鈥�
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. But as the war has dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged.
While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for at least a temporary diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the militant group.
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A week after Spain's floods, families hope that the missing are alive with 89 unaccounted for
SEDAVI, Spain (AP) 鈥� Francisco Murgui went out to try to salvage his motorbike when the water started to rise.
He never came back.
One week after catastrophic flooding devastated eastern Spain, Mar铆a Murgui still holds out hope that her missing father is alive.
鈥淗e was like many people in town who went out to get their car or motorbike to safety,鈥� the 27-year-old told The Associated Press. 鈥淭he flash flood caught him outside, and he had to cling to a tree in order to escape drowning. He called us to tell us he was fine, that we shouldn鈥檛 worry.鈥�
But when Mar铆a set out into the streets of Sedav铆 to try to rescue him from the water washing away everything in its path, he was nowhere to be found.
The Associated Press
