A presidential campaign marked by turmoil and rancour came to a close on Election Day, as Americans decided whether to return Donald Trump to the White House or promote Kamala Harris to the Oval Office.
Polls opened across the country Tuesday morning, with voters facing a stark choice between two candidates who offered very different temperaments and visions for the world’s largest economy and dominant military power.
Harris, the Democratic vice president, would be the first female president if elected. She promised to work across the aisle to address economic concerns and other issues without radically deviating from the path set by President Joe Biden. Trump, the former Republican president, pledged to replace thousands of federal employees with loyalists, impose comprehensive tariffs on allies and enemies alike, and organize the largest deportation operation in US history.
The two candidates spent the last hours of the election campaign in Pennsylvania, the largest state witnessing competition. They were trying to energize their bases as well as Americans who were still on the fence or debating whether to vote at all.
“It’s important, it’s my civic duty and it’s important to vote for myself and vote for democracy and the country that I’ve supported for 22 years of my life,” said Ron Kessler, 54, an Air Force veteran from Pennsylvania. He was only voting for the second time.
Harris and Trump entered Election Day focusing on seven battleground states, five of which Trump won in 2016 before flipping to Biden in 2020: “blue wall” states in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which were won by Democrats and Republicans respectively in the last elections, were hotly contested.
The closeness of the race and the number of states competing increased the possibility that the winner would not be known again on election night. There was an early precursor from the small New Hampshire village of Dixville Notch, which had a tradition of voting after midnight on Election Day. Dixville Notch was split between Trump and Harris, with three votes each.
In the 2020 presidential race, it took four days to announce the winner. Regardless, Trump has baselessly claimed that if he loses, it will be due to fraud. The Harris campaign was preparing for him to try to declare victory before the winner was known on Tuesday evening, or to try to challenge the result if she won. Four years ago, Trump launched an attempt to overturn the will of voters, which ended on January 6, 2021, in the insurrection at the US Capitol.
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Trump plans to cast his vote in his home state of Florida on Tuesday, then spend the day at his home in Mar-a-Lago before holding a party at a nearby convention center. Harris has already voted by mail in her home state of California. She will be holding a viewing party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington.
Each candidate will take the country to new terrain
Harris, 60, will be the first black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as president. She will also be the first vice president to win the White House in 32 years.
Victory would cap a stormy campaign unparalleled in American history. Harris rose to the top of the Democratic ticket less than four months ago after Biden, who faced enormous pressure from his party after a disastrous debate performance, ended his re-election bid.
Trump (78 years old) will be the oldest elected president ever. He would also be the first defeated president in 132 years to win another term in the White House, and the first person convicted of a felony to hold the Oval Office.
After leaving Washington abandoned by some allies after January 6, Trump defeated his younger rivals in the Republican primaries and consolidated the support of his old allies and harsh critics within his party. He survived a single-millimeter assassination attempt at the July rally. Secret Service agents thwarted a second attempt in September.
A Trump victory would confirm that enough voters set aside the warnings of many former Trump aides or instead prioritized concerns about Biden and Harris’ stewardship of the economy or the U.S.-Mexico border.
This will ensure he avoids going to prison after he was convicted for his role in concealing financial payments to an adult film actress during his first presidential run in 2016. He could be sentenced in that case later this month. Upon taking office, Trump could end the federal investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
The elections carry great risks for America and the world
The potential turmoil of Trump’s second term has been exacerbated by his embrace of the GOP’s far right and his disregard for established democratic norms.
Trump used harsh rhetoric against Harris and other Democrats, calling them “satanic” and suggesting military action against people he called “inside enemies.”
Referring to the warnings of former Trump aides, Harris called him a “fascist” and blamed Trump for endangering women’s lives by nominating three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. In the final hours of the campaign, she tried to speak in a more positive tone and remained throughout the final day of Monday without mentioning the name of her Republican opponent.
As Election Day approached, federal, state and local officials expressed confidence in the integrity of the nation’s electoral systems. However, they were prepared to deal with what they say is an unprecedented level of foreign disinformation — particularly from Russia and Iran — as well as the potential for physical violence or cyberattacks.
Both sides have armies of lawyers in anticipation of legal challenges on and after Election Day. Law enforcement agencies across the country are on high alert for possible violence.
The outcome of the race was closely watched around the world, as the future of US support for Ukraine, US loyalty to its global alliances, and the country’s commitment to standing up to autocrats were at stake.
Harris pledged to continue supporting Kiev’s defense against a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. Trump has sharply criticized Ukraine, praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, and indicated he would encourage Russia to attack US NATO allies whom Trump views as aberrant.
Voters across the country were also deciding thousands of other races who would decide everything from control of Congress to state ballot measures on abortion access.
More than 82 million people voted early, a number lower than the record set during the 2020 pandemic, when Trump encouraged Republicans to commit to voting on Election Day. This time, he urged his voters to seal their ballots in advance, and they complied in droves.
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Palm Beach, Florida, Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker in Washington, and Mark Levy in Allentown, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
