Where It Stands: Election Hinges On Key States, And Final Results May Be Delayed

Updated at 11:45 p.m. ET

With polls closed in most of the country, it's increasingly apparent that the presidential election will not be clinched swiftly.

President Trump has secured reliable Republican states, while Joe Biden won safe Democratic electoral votes. But key swing states — including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona — are either too close or too early to call.

Meanwhile, Trump has the edge in Florida, which The Associated Press has not yet called. An early, definitive Trump loss in the Sunshine State would have made the president's path to reelection extremely difficult and would have Democratic hopes for a blue wave and an early night.

Instead, with Florida currently leaning red and so many key states up for grabs, the election could go either way, and it could be days before the final result is known for sure.

Remember: Patience is essential this week.

Three other key themes from this Election Day:

• Voting was largely uneventful, despite concerns about unrest or voter intimidation campaigns. There were isolated altercations, but no massive disruptions to voting processes.
• A tremendous shift toward early voting, driven largely by the coronavirus, has reshaped the pace of the election. As of Election Day morning, more than 100 million Americans had voted early. What that means for ballot counting varies by state, but in states where votes cannot begin to be counted until Election Day, the abundance of mail-in votes is expected to contribute to a delay in final results.
• How will President Trump respond to a delay in the results? Axios reported earlier this week that Trump told confidants he would claim victory prematurely if he appeared to be leading. On Tuesday, during an interview on Fox and Friends, Trump said he would declare victory "when there's victory" and that "there's no reason to play games."

Trump and Biden are watching the election results from their respective residences — Trump at the White House and Biden at his family home in Delaware.

Both candidates are expected to address the nation tonight, even if there has not yet emerged a clear winner in the race.

The last U.S. polls close at 1 a.m. ET when Alaska wraps up voting.

In other developments:

• Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham won his reelection campaign in South Carolina, despite a well-funded challenge from Jaime Harrison.
• In Texas, Republican Sen. John Cornyn won reelection, stymieing Democratic hopes for a major upset in a longtime Republican stronghold.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has won his reelection bid against Democratic challenger Amy McGrath in Kentucky.
• Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once endorsed the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, has won a seat in Georgia's 14th Congressional District
• Delaware's Sarah McBride has become the nation's first openly transgender state senator.
• Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper defeated incumbent GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, securing Democrats their first Senate seat pick-up of the night.
• Florida voters opted to raise the minimum wage to $15.

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