US Election: 7 states in balance for presidential prize

ANKARA: Seven US states hang in the balance early Wednesday in the 2020 polls to decide who will win the presidential crown between Republican President Donald Trump and his opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, Anadolu Agency reported.

In Pennsylvania, a major swing state, Trump leads Biden 55.7 per cent to 43.1 per cent with more than 75.2 per cent of the popular vote reported so far for the state’s 20 electoral votes, according to RealClearPolitics, a US news site and polling aggregator.

However, poll analysts say most of the early and mail-in ballots in the state have yet to be counted, and they are expected to shrink the gap in favour of Biden.

Trump early Wednesday demanded that all vote counting be halted, claiming victory in the face of “major fraud,” but Democrats say it is the standard legal practice in Pennsylvania and other states to continue counting for days afterwards.

In Michigan, another key state, Trump is ahead 51.5 per cent against 46.9 per cent for Biden, with 78.9 per cent of the popular vote reported for the state’s 16 electoral votes. Similar concerns apply over mail-in and early votes, however.

Trump is close to winning in Georgia with 50.5 per cent to Biden’s 48.3 per cent, as 99.4 per cent votes have been reported in the traditional red state, which has 16 electoral votes.

The president also looks certain to claim victory in North Carolina, boasting 50.1 per cent of the popular vote against Biden's 48.7 per cent, as RealClearPolitics data shows all votes have been counted for the state, which has 15 electoral votes.

In Wisconsin in the Upper Midwest, for 10 electoral votes, Biden is narrowly leading Trump, 49.4 per cent to 49.1 per cent, with more than 98.4 per cent of the vote reported so far.

In the Western state of Nevada, for six electoral votes, Biden was again ahead of Trump by 50 per cent against 47.9 per cent, although only 69.9 per cent of the votes have so far been reported.

In Alaska, for three electoral votes, Trump was far ahead of Biden with 63 per cent against 33.1 per cent, but only 45.7 per cent of the votes have been reported.

In the confirmed column, according to The Associated Press (AP), Trump has captured the swing state of Florida along with most of the South and the country’s West and Midwest, including South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah.

Biden, for his part, won big in the East/Northeast and the US West Coast, including Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Washington state, Oregon, and California, as well as in Minnesota, Illinois, Arizona, Hawaii, Colorado, and New Mexico.

So far, Biden leads with 238 electoral votes to Trump’s 213 in the race to reach 270, the number of votes needed to win, according to AP projection.

-- BERNAMA