Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump inched closer to the 270 electoral votes mark in the US Presidential election, securing victory in three of the seven battleground states.

 

Former President Donald Trump has gained 266 electoral votes — just four away from the 270 he needs to be elected 47th President of the United States. His opponent, Kamala Harris has 205 seats.

 

Early on Tuesday evening, Trump swept reliable red states and Vice President Kamala Harris picked up blue strongholds. Later on, Trump picked up North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and Harris’ path to 270 shrank considerably.

 

Even as he was assured of victory, Trump addressed supporters in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday morning and thanked the American people for their support. 

 

“We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders and we’re going to fix everything about our country,” Trump said, promising Americans that “every single day I will be fighting for you” and said he would usher in the “golden age of America.” 

 

Meanwhile, CNN said Republicans will win the US Senate majority, shifting the balance of power in Washington. The Republican march to control started early on election night when West Virginia Governor Jim Justice was projected to pick up the Senate seat vacated by retiring Democrat-turned-independent Sen Joe Manchin. In Ohio, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who has served in the chamber for three terms, will lose his reelection bid, CNN projects, in a state that has gone from a perennial political bellwether during his tenure to a deep red stronghold. The new Republican senator will be businessman Bernie Moreno, a vehement Trump supporter.