WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — The presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump was once seen as a coin-toss election, but instead, Trump dominated in several battleground states as Harris floundered.
Trump maintained his Electoral College and popular vote lead over Harris after winning three key states, North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, the most important blue wall state, likely boosting him to another term in the White House.
The former president also defied preelection polling that showed Harris leading him in Iowa, a state that he easily won by double digits.
With the election nearly in the rearview mirror, the Washington Examiner reranked the battleground states for the final time according to which will be the hardest for Harris to win.
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1. North Carolina
The Tar Heel State was the first battleground state called, with Trump winning the state’s 16 electoral votes over Harris. North Carolina was a must-win state for Trump to secure a second term.
The Associated Press called the race at 11:18 p.m. EST with Trump winning 51.2% of the vote to Harris’s 47.6%, with 96% of the vote counted.
The former president barnstormed the state over the weekend, including cities that were devastated by Hurricane Helene, in a successful effort to shore up his supporters ahead of Tuesday.
North Carolina continued its streak of sticking by Republican presidential candidates, as former President Barack Obama was the last Democratic to win the state in 2008.
2. Georgia
Trump defeated Harris in the Peach State, another sunbelt state crucial to his path to victory. The Associated Press called Georgia for Trump at 12:58 a.m. EST on Wednesday. Trump won nearly 51% of the vote to Harris’s 48.4% with 94% of the votes counted, gaining the state’s 16 electoral votes.
This marks the first state that Trump lost in 2020 to President Joe Biden, which he flipped in his favor this cycle.
In his quest to win Georgia, Trump even patched up his contentious relationship with popular Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA), whom he had once denigrated in the fallout from his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
3. Pennsylvania
The Associated Press called the Keystone State, and its 19 electoral votes, for Trump in the early morning hours of Wednesday, essentially clinching the election for the former president.
Trump won 51% of the vote with 95% of ballots counted while Harris won 48.1% of the vote. With the state in Trump’s pocket, several news organizations began declaring Trump president-elect.
Without Pennsylvania, Harris faced little path to winning the White House. She had not yet conceded the race and she did not address supporters at her election watch party at Howard University.
The battlegrounds that have not been called
Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan are the remaining battlegrounds that have not yet been called by the Associated Press, but Trump was leading Harris in all four of the states as of 4 a.m. EST.
In Michigan, Trump leads at nearly 53% to Harris’s roughly 46% with 78% of votes counted, while in Wisconsin Trump is pulling a little over 51% to Harris’s 47.3% with 92% of votes counted.
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In the Sun Belt state of Nevada, Trump is winning nearly 52% to Harris’s nearly 47% with 81% of the vote counted. And in Arizona, Trump is pulling just over 50% of the vote while Harris is winning nearly 49% of the vote with 52% of votes counted.
The winner of these four states will likely be determined in the coming hours and days. But it’s unlikely that Harris can overcome Trump’s advantage.
