Donald Trump won the key state of North Carolina on Tuesday, enough to fuel the optimism that is winning over his camp, even if nothing is yet decided in his breathtaking duel with Kamala Harris for the White House.
It is the first of the seven decisive states in this tense election to be judged by the American media.
It brings 16 additional electors into the hands of the 78-year-old Republican tribune.
North Carolina is not a « swing state » strictly speaking, a state which changes sides from one election to another, since Donald Trump won it in 2016 and 2020, but his Democratic rival hoped to take it away from him.
The mood is « positive » in the Trump camp, one of the former president's closest advisers, Jason Miller, told AFP.
The wait continues in the six other states likely to swing the outcome of the election, while other states, where there was no suspense, have delivered their verdicts.
For the moment, Donald Trump is in the lead with 227 voters, compared to 172 for Kamala Harris.
Donald Trump supporters in Manchester, New Hampshire, November 5, 2024 / Joseph Prezioso / AFP
According to still provisional results, Donald Trump is in the lead in several decisive states, with an electoral official mentioning in particular a “insurmountable advance” Republican in Georgia.
Kamala Harris campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon acknowledged Tuesday that the “clearest path” to reach the fateful threshold of 270 electors, synonymous with victory, passed through Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, only three pivotal states out of the seven at stake, known as the “blue wall”.
Donald Trump won these three states in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden took them back in 2020.
“Anxious”
Supporters of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris at Howard University in the capital Washington, November 5, 2024 / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
In any case, the atmosphere has completely changed at the historically black Howard University in Washington, where supporters of Kamala Harris are gathered.
From being festive, the atmosphere became tense, noted an AFP journalist. Charlyn Anderson, a voter leaving the scene, confided: “I’m scared, I’m anxious now. I can barely move my legs. »
In the other States which have already delivered their final results, no surprises.
According to the media, the two candidates won a series of states that were promised to them: Texas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Louisiana for the former Republican president. . New York, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Colorado and the capital Washington for the Democratic vice president.
No one knows how long it will take before the media attribute final victory in this duel between Kamala Harris, who would be the first woman elected to this position, and Donald Trump, who never admitted his defeat in 2020.
The Republican tribune, convicted of criminal charges and targeted by multiple prosecutions, spoke on Tuesday of “rumors” according to which voting operations in Philadelphia, in the hotly contested state of Pennsylvania, were parasitized by “massive fraud”accusations immediately denied by the authorities.
The whole world
Election workers count ballots in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 5, 2024 / Alex Wroblewski / AFP
The whole world awaits the outcome of the duel, at the end of an unprecedented campaign marked by the resounding entry into the running of Kamala Harris in July after the withdrawal of President Joe Biden, and by two assassination attempts targeting Donald Trump.
Behind these two candidates were two apparently irreconcilable Americas, each convinced that the other camp would lead the country to disaster.
In which states have US presidential candidates campaigned the most? / Corin FAIFE, Sabrina BLANCHARD / AFP
The 60-year-old vice president painted her rival as a dictator “fascist” in power and in danger for women's rights.
Donald Trump described his opponent as a weak leader and ” beast “lax in the face of illegal immigration and crime.
Across the country, the tension surrounding the vote is visible: in certain polling stations transformed into fortresses, in the high barricades surrounding the White House.
In two « swing states »Georgia and Pennsylvania, false bomb threats targeted polling stations, according to authorities.
Republicans won two seats in the US Senate on Tuesday previously won by Democrats, in West Virginia and Ohio.
Democrats currently have a very narrow majority in the Senate, and any seat recaptured by Republicans endangers their chances of retaining it.
The very polarizing issue of abortion is also the subject of several referendums. In one of the most followed, in Florida, a proposal aimed at reintroducing the possibility of performing an abortion up to approximately 24 weeks of pregnancy, instead of the current six, did not garner enough votes to win.
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