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Timeline: How Trump became the projected winner of the presidential race

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ projected early Wednesday morning that Donald Trump would win the presidential election.
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1:23 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ projected on Wednesday afternoon that Donald Trump will win the battleground state of Michigan. It was the sixth projected battleground state victory for the former president. The win in Michigan also put him over 300 electoral votes. Only 270 were needed to win the presidency, which he reached early Wednesday morning.

3:36 a.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ project Donald Trump will win the battleground state of Nevada, adding to his Electoral College tally.

While Vice President Kamala Harris has not conceded, her campaign said she will address the nation on Wednesday.

2:12 a.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ project Trump will win Wisconsin, adding to his Electoral College lead, surpassing the 270 needed to win the presidential election.

1:24 a.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ project Donald Trump will win the 2024 presidential race after securing a victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

1:16 a.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ project Trump will win Alaska, bringing him closer to victory. Trump is now just 19 Electoral College votes from winning the presidential election.

12:45 a.m.

As the path to victory for Harris narrows, supporters at her watch party at Howard University have been told they can go home.

Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, told supporters that they would not hear from the vice president until Wednesday.

12:06 a.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Harris will win New Mexico.

11:46 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Harris will win New Jersey and Maine's First Congressional District.

Donald Trump is projected to win Maine's Second Congressional District.

11:21 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Harris will win Oregon, Washington and Connecticut but still trails Trump in the Electoral College.

11:00 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Trump will win Idaho.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Harris will win California.

10:29 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Trump will win the battleground state of Georgia. This is the second battleground state Trump is projected to win. Scripps Nes and Decision Desk HQ projected earlier that the former president will win North Carolina.

Georgia is a flip for Trump. He lost the state in 2020 to Joe Biden by about 11,000 votes.

10:11 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Trump will win Iowa.

10:00 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Trump will win Utah and Montana.

Meanwhile, Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Harris will win Delaware.

9:33 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Harris will
win Colorado.

9:24 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Trump will win the battleground state of North Carolina.

Scott Tranter, director of the data science team at Decision Desk HQ said they were able to call North Carolina for Trump because they are seeing similar trends when Trump won the state four years ago.

"What we've seen from North Carolina is a resurgence of the 2020 turnout that got Donald Trump the state back in 2020, specifically in the rurals," he said. "And we've got enough of vote out of the suburban areas around Mecklenburg, in Charlotte and Raleigh, He's hitting his vote goals and that's why we're able to call it."

Why DDHQ called North Carolina for Trump so early

9:01 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Trump will win Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska's Third Congressional District, Kansas, Louisiana and Wyoming.

Meanwhile, Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Harris will win New York and Illinois.

9:00 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Trump will win Ohio.

8:56 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Harris will win New Hampshire.

8:50 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Harris will win Virginia.

8:45 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Trump will win Arkansas.

8:00 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected Trump will win Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Harris will win Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.

7:30 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ have projected that Trump will win West Virginia.

7:20 p.m.

Election officials are disputing claims by Trump that cheating is ongoing in Philadelphia, a Democratic stronghold.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said, "There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation."

Trump also warned that heavy law enforcement is "coming" to Detroit, another Democratic stronghold.

In response, the Michigan Secretary of State's Office said, "We do not know what the former president is talking about. This seems like a pretty transparent attempt to stoke fear and suppress voter turnout."

7:07 p.m.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ has projected Donald Trump will win Indiana, Kentucky and South Carolina, picking up 28 Electoral College votes.

Meanwhile, Scripps News and DDHQ project Kamala Harris will win Vermont and pick up 3 electoral votes.

7 p.m.

Polls have begun to close in numerous states that are situated in the Eastern time zone. They include Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. Florida has some counties in the Central time zones, which remain open for the next hour.

6 p.m.

Polls have begun to close in parts of Kentucky and Indiana. Both states straddle the Eastern and Central time zones. Polls are only closing for the counties in the Eastern time zone. They remain open for the next hour in the Central time zone.

5 p.m.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were encouraging every last supporter to get out and vote before polls closed on Tuesday.

Trump, who cast his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, told reporters he was feeling "very confident" going into election night.

He also released a video on social media, saying, "We're going to have a big victory tonight."

Meanwhile, Harris made a stop at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and spoke with voters on the phone.

Vice President Kamala Harris stops by DNC headquarters and takes calls from voters

She also spent the day doing interviews with radio stations in key battleground states.

Harris voted on Sunday, sending in her ballot to her home state of California.

The two candidates have watch parties planned for Tuesday night. Harris will watch election results come in at her alma mater Howard University. Trump will host his watch party at a convention center in Palm Beach.

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