As Alaska concluded its voting, closing the final statewide polls for the U.S. presidential election, results indicate a likely victory for former President Donald Trump, securing the state’s three electoral votes. Although most polling locations nationwide have wrapped up voting, some counties with long wait times or court orders to extend hours are still allowing voters to cast ballots.
In a notable victory, Trump reclaimed Georgia—a state he narrowly lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to reports from the Associated Press. This marks a significant win in Trump’s push through key battleground states, with his campaign expressing confidence in their ability to sweep these critical regions. Trump is expected to address supporters shortly at a watch party in Palm Beach, Florida, with his well-known walkout song, “YMCA,” already playing as Secret Service prepares the area.
Meanwhile, at the Democratic watch event at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas, a mixture of hope and anxiety fills the room as supporters await further updates. Among those gathered are Crystal and Kiersten Madrid, twin sisters who came with their friend, Nevada State Senator Fabian Doñate. “I’ve just been drinking a lot of water, trying to stay hydrated,” Kiersten said. Her sister Crystal added, “And it’s good to be with loved ones and like-minded people tonight.”
Aneri Shah, 22, a volunteer for Emily’s List, shared her nervousness with her father, Gunjan Shah. “Things do seem to have shifted since 2020,” she noted while observing the election updates on the big screen. Yet, Shah expressed cautious optimism about Nevada, whose six electoral votes could play a deciding role in this election.
In Washington, Kamala Harris’s campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, addressed a crowd of supporters. He stated that Harris would not make an appearance that evening, explaining, “We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet.” He assured those gathered that every vote would be counted, with Harris expected to speak the following day.
The mood turned tense at Harris’s election-watch gathering at Howard University, where aides directed camera crews to cut their lights as law enforcement appeared. Though the reason was unclear, Beyoncé’s “Freedom” played briefly before being cut off.
The Associated Press has yet to confirm a winner in Georgia, though CNN and NBC have both projected Trump as the victor. Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling stated there are too few uncounted ballots left to affect Trump’s lead.
In another electoral development, Louisiana’s sixth district saw a victory for Democrat Cleo Fields, who defeated four opponents to secure a congressional seat. Fields, who represented Louisiana in the U.S. House from 1993 to 1997, won 51% of the vote in the newly redrawn, majority-Black district. The district includes parts of Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge and became Louisiana’s second majority-Black district after the 2020 census prompted a reconfiguration.
Fields’s victory, along with that of another Democratic incumbent in Louisiana’s only other majority-Black district, provides a potential boost for Democrats in their efforts to reclaim the U.S. House from Republicans, who have held it since 2022. However, the effectiveness of these wins in the Democratic campaign to retake the House remains uncertain.
Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to review Louisiana’s redrawn district map, following a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. The current map could bolster re-election prospects for Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
