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The stories that matter about money and politics in the race for the White House

Former President Donald Trump has claimed the battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania, increasing his vote share in 88 percent of rural counties.

Trump received more votes in every state except Utah and Washington. He was especially strong in the areas he won in 2020, making the red states redder, especially Florida and Texas. That put Trump on track to win a majority of the national popular vote for the first time.

Trump also gained ground in traditional Democratic strongholds, closing the gap with Harris by 12 points in New York, 11 in Connecticut and 11 in New Jersey. In Maryland he is ahead by 10 points.

In Florida, Trump trailed Miami-Dade, the state’s most populous county, and won more than 55 percent of the vote. In 2020, Joe Biden won the county with 53.4 percent. In Florida’s Latino-majority counties, Trump increased his vote share by nearly eight points compared to four years earlier.

Pennsylvania, which awards 19 electoral votes and was crucial for Harris to win after her losses in Georgia and North Carolina, has been called for Trump, who leads with 51 percent, compared to 48 percent for Harris. Some remaining swing states – Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin – are still in the balance, but Trump has declared victory.

Across the US, data suggests that women, urban voters and Latino voters did not turn out for Harris, while rural areas came out strongly for Trump.

Other long-range goals for Harris went way out of the way. A poll last weekend by “gold standard” pollster J Ann Selzer showed Harris leading by an unexpected three points in staunchly conservative Iowa, boosting Democratic hopes. On election night, Trump led by more than thirteen points in the state, with almost all votes having been counted.

In North Carolina, Republicans have won in every election since 2012, but by increasingly narrow margins the former president has increased his vote share in counties he won in 2020. He also managed to take out three – Nash, Pasquotank and Anson. the Democrats.

Georgia, another state where the Harris campaign has poured resources, has also called for Trump. He leads with 50.7 percent of the vote, compared to Harris’ 48.5 percent.

While there are still some key blue wall swing states, the current vote count is largely in Trump’s favor.

There are also signs that Harris is underperforming in counties in battleground states compared to Biden in 2020.

In Wisconsin, Dane County is a reliably Democratic jurisdiction that has seen increased vote share for Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 1992 — except this year.