US election: Trump leads in crucial battleground states as Harris fights to retain hope

The fierce competition in five of the seven battleground US states will determine whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the presidency. Trump, the former president, currently leads in five swing states and has already won North Carolina.

According to the AP tracker, Donald Trump received 2,571,258 votes (50.8%) in North Carolina, while Kamala Harris received 2,436,454 votes (48.1%) in the crucial swing state.

As of 9 am IST, the Republican candidate is ahead of Harris in Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan, albeit by a slight margin.

In Nevada, polling is still ongoing, and preliminary results have not yet been released.

In Pennsylvania, Harris had been ahead before the results began to roll in, but she lost the lead to Trump, who now leads by about 2%.

Both candidates are aiming for history, even though the race is still very close, and 270 electoral votes are required to win the presidency.

Trump wants to become only the second former president to win a non-consecutive term, while Harris hopes to become the first woman to serve as the country's highest officeholder.

Trump has consistently performed well in traditionally red states, winning in Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, according to early predictions.

Texas, which he has won in every election since 2016, also contributed 40 electoral votes. Trump won the 17 electoral votes in Ohio by defeating Harris.

Meanwhile, Harris has achieved victory in New York, where she increased her total number of electoral votes by 28.

In addition, she maintained the Democratic hold on Colorado, Washington, D.C., Illinois (19 votes), New Jersey (14 votes), and other Northeastern states.

The focus has now shifted to several key states, where the election results might still go either way. Georgia, a major swing state, is currently leaning toward Trump.

With 66% of the vote counted, Trump leads Harris by 5.7% points, putting him in position to win Georgia's 16 electoral votes.

With 20% of the vote counted, Trump has gained a slight lead in Pennsylvania, where Harris had topped early voting trends. With 20 electoral votes, the state is still too close to call.

Together, the swing states provide 93 electoral votes. Following his victory in Georgia, Trump is predicted to secure an additional 16 electoral votes, having already secured 16 in North Carolina.

Trump is presently ahead in all of the battleground states, but Kamala Harris would need to win Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to win the U.S. elections.

Trump presently has 230 electoral votes, and his total could easily reach 270 if he sweeps the remaining swing states.

Kamala Harris' victory in California, which has the most electoral votes (54), would be insignificant if Trump maintains his lead in the battleground states.