Presidential election results 2020

CNN's Dana Bash said the close race in Florida was an early harbinger that tonight would likely not be the landslide Democrats had hoped for. 

"There is no landslide that we are looking at," she said. "No way given the numbers that we've seen particularly when you start the night in Florida when it's as tight as Florida tends to be."

Bash went on to explain that the Biden campaign appears to have underperformed with Latino voters because of the Trump campaign's work to paint Biden as a socialist had been effective. 

"I'll tell you what [the Biden campaign] thinks went wrong is that the Trump attacks have worked," said Bash. "Calling the Democrats socialist worked with people in that area, in particular."

CNN's Abby Phillip concurred, saying turnout among Latino voters will likely be the area of study for Democrats, once the election is settled. 

"What is happening in Florida, I can tell you, Democrats are not happy about it," said Phillip. "At the end of the day, the situation in Miami-Dade is something that in the autopsy of this election they will be looking back at and trying to figure out what went wrong."

CNN's Dana Bash, Abby Phillip and Jake Tapper explain:

On Election Night at the White House, the Trump campaign is running the show inside the White House grounds, even at the President's election night party — further blurring the lines between political activity and official government business. 

Ahead of an expected appearance from President Trump around an election night watch party, the campaign is also setting the guest list – including which journalists can attend.

Rather than inviting the White House press corps, the list was limited to a handful of favored conservative outlets, including Fox News, One America News, Newsmax, Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, JustTheNews.com, and Breitbart. Reporters from Washington Post, Univision, USA Today, and McClatchy were also invited. 

As of 9:30 p.m. ET, those reporters have not yet been told when they will be taken inside and are told to expect to see the President.

Members of CNN’s technical staff were part of a production pool to facilitate video transmission. 

White House spokesperson Judd Deere defended the event, claiming the White House was merely the venue and not the host. "Just like convention it’s a campaign event. White House is the venue,” Deere said. 

The campaign was responsible for that guest list, and not the White House, though the journalists were administered Covid-19 tests by White House doctors. 

Former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday that the President is expected to “address the nation later from the East Room,” which is one of the rooms being used for the event. 

Approximately 400 people were invited to the White House watch party, though only about 200 to 250 are expected to attend the indoor event, which will be held in the East Wing. And over in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, steps away from the West Wing, the campaign has set up a war room with aides monitoring results. CNN reporter earlier that  war room at the White House is being funded by the Trump campaign.

Here's where polls are closing at 10 p.m. ET:

Follow along here and CNN's Election Center for full coverage.

Trump will win South Carolina, CNN projects.

There are nine electoral votes at stake in South Carolina. It takes 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

Who won in 2016: President Trump carried the state and won the general election.

President Trump will win Alabama, CNN projects.

There are nine electoral votes at stake in Alabama. It takes 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

Who won in 2016: President Trump carried the state and won the general election.

As Joe Biden’s lead in North Carolina narrows, CNN’s John King said that North Carolina may be the “most competitive” state. 

Biden’s lead in the state was based on early voting, which skews Democratic, King explained, while President Trump has encouraged his supporters to vote in person. 

Biden is leading in the cities, while Trump is currently getting “shellacked” in the Raleigh-Durham urban area, King said. 

Joe Biden is currently leading President Trump in North Carolina with 80% of the estimated vote in, but in some big Democratic counties, it is mostly early votes, CNN's David Chalian said.

"Of this 80% of the vote that's in, 90% of it right now in North Carolina statewide is early vote," he said.

Chalian added that by the end of the night only 75% of the total North Carolina vote could be early vote.

"So, right now, the early vote is helping Joe Biden, but as more Election Day vote comes in North Carolina, Donald Trump may be able to benefit from that," he said.

An estimated 45% of votes have been counted in Georgia, with President Trump currently leading by a healthy margin. The majority of votes in the state, however, come from Atlanta and its neighboring suburban areas where Biden seems to have a comfortable lead, CNN’s John King observed.

“The question is what is still to come in this night that's a little different than previous election nights because of mail-in voting, early in-person voting and election day voting,” King said.

Some background: Georgia is a key state to watch this election. It is one of three states in the Southeast — along with Florida and North Carolina — that are all crucial for President Trump’s path to 270 electoral votes. The Biden campaign has also dispatched its top surrogates to the state, including former President Barack Obama.

Its diversifying electorate, suburban swings in Democrats' favor and a series of close calls there during Trump's presidency have put Georgia into play.

Biden is currently leading in Fulton County where Atlanta is located as well as Dekalb County, close to Atlanta.

The vote count is very much in the preliminary stage but based on the reporting so far, Biden also seems to be outperforming Hillary Clinton in 2016. This also stands for Chatham County.

Biden also has a healthy lead so far in Cobb County with about 30% of the vote in, and in Gwinnett County with about 15% votes counted.

CNN projects Joe Biden will win easily in Colorado, which has been turning bluer and bluer with each passing election cycle.

This year, Democrats not only had the presidential race to excite them, but an opportunity to flip a seat in the Senate, where incumbent Republican Cory Gardner is facing a tough challenge from former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. It would be a surprise if Gardner holds on to the seat. (Jury’s still out on that one.)

That Biden walked away so quickly with the Centennial State could bode well for him elsewhere. The expectation going into Election Day was that, with full results from the big cities are likely to come in later, the early arrows could point in Republicans’ direction. 

But the expectation of, at the least, a “red mirage” has mostly dissipated. Biden is cruising and Hickenlooper looks to be in good shape in his bid to unseat Gardner.