How the President's campaign turned to "Trump super counties" leading up to Election Day
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
President Trump visited a number of "Trump super counties" in the final days before Election Day to energize the electorate and turn out the vote, said CNN's John King, pointing to Catawba County in North Carolina where Trump campaigned on Monday.
"These are Trump super counties, if you will, around, the country," said King. "The President went to certain places to do his rallies because he knew he was losing in the early voting and they were designed to turn people up."
"The President had a deliberately travel plan," added King. "He went to certain places where they knew their voters were."
8:37 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
Joe Biden needs to win in these Ohio areas to take the state
From CNN's Aditi Sangal / Analysis by CNN's John King
People stand in line to vote outside Maranatha Baptist Church on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. Jay LaPrete/AP
For Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to win the competitive state of Ohio, which leans a little Republican, he needs to “run it up in urban areas,” CNN’s John King said as the votes come in.
“That would be Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Toledo and Youngstown," King said.
Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland: “This has to be [the Democrats’] foundation — largest county in the state. About 11% of the vote when you are all done,” King explained.
Youngstown: Both Biden and Trump have tried to court the blue collar demographic here. But this could be a test for Biden, King said. Hillary Clinton “just barely won this,” he noted. “One of the things [Biden] says he can do is that unlike Hillary Clinton, he can win Trump voters, he can win blue collar, traditional Democrats, who left the Party to go for Donald Trump.”
Columbus: “It’s the state capital, it’s unions, it’s African Americans,” King explains.
The suburbs are the big challenge, where the candidates will battle for the American presidency, King said.
“Donald Trump carried the suburbs 2017. That's why he's President of the United States. It is part of the coalition Trump put together,” King said. “If Joe Biden can hold Lake County, hold the suburbs west of Cleveland, that’s part of the building blocks, at least get you close.”
8:31 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
CNN Projection: Trump wins West Virginia
President Trump will win West Virginia, CNN projects.
There are five electoral votes at stake in West Virginia. 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.
8:58 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
No Republican has won the presidency in modern times without winning Ohio
On-air analysis from John King / Written by CNN's Adrienne Vogt
A view of the ballot counting room during the general elections at the Hamilton County Board of Elections, on Tuesday, in Norwood, Ohio. Aaron Doster/AP
CNN’s John King underscored that Ohio may be a crucial state for the President to win reelection.
“No Republican has won the presidency in modern times without winning Ohio. So that Joe Biden is competitive here is a source of angst right now at the Trump campaign headquarters,” King said.
With about a third of the vote in, Biden is ahead in Ohio’s cities and surrounding suburbs, while Trump is ahead in the more rural areas. But King outlined that those rural areas could add up for the Trump campaign.
“We know [Biden is] competitive in Ohio. Win or lose Ohio, there is a lesson in this: that Joe Biden is competitive than Hillary Clinton in these industrial states,” King said.
“No matter how this ends, this tells you that this is a different campaign than we had four years ago, and that Joe Biden is more competitive than Hillary Clinton,” he added.
8:29 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
Early exit polls show a big decrease in support for Biden among Latinos in Florida
From CNN’s Grace Sparks and Ryan Struyk
As polls close in Florida, an early exit survey of voters in the state shows a big decrease in support for Democrat Joe Biden among Latinos compared to 2016.
Slightly more than half of the group is backing the former vice president, according to the early exit polls, compared to the 62% that went for Clinton four years ago. President Donald Trump’s support among the group has increased significantly, as well.
Latino voters have also shifted in Georgia. In 2016, Latino voters in the state went for Hillary Clinton by 40 points; they are voting for Joe Biden by around 25 points.
Trump has a small lead among seniors in Florida, garnering just over half of the vote there, a decrease in his performance from in 2016 when he won 57% of the group in Florida.
More than half of independent voters in the Sunshine State are backing Biden, a better performance than Clinton in 2016, when Trump won independents 47% to 43%.
CNN's exit polls this year incorporate in-person interviews at early voting locations and telephone interviews to target by-mail voters. Those surveys are in addition to the in-person interviews with voters on Tuesday. In every state where exit poll results are available on election night, there will be a combined result to reflect a complete picture of voters across the country.
8:19 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
CNN Projection: Trump wins Tennessee
President Trump will win Tennessee, CNN projects.
There are 11 electoral votes at stake in Tennessee. 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.
8:21 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
Maine's 2nd is a wild card in the race to 270
From CNN's Gregory Krieg
A woman casts her ballot at the Cross Insurance Center polling location on November 3, in Bangor, Maine. Scott Eisen/Getty Images
Maine allocates two of its four electoral votes to the statewide winner – a Democrat in every race since 1988. The other two are split between its two congressional districts.
Maine’s 2nd is the wild card.
Democratic Rep. Jared Golden flipped the district in a tight 2018 contest and is expected to retain it this year. The presidential race, though, is a toss-up.
Though it covers a lot more ground, the 2nd district’s population is smaller than in the 1st, which is home to the state’s biggest city in Portland. Trump won the 2nd in 2016, a victory emblematic of his strength with rural voters.
Maine also presents Democrats with one of their first opportunities of the night to cut into the GOP Senate majority. Incumbent Sen. Susan Collins is in the fight of her political life with Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, who has benefited from a nationwide liberal backlash over Collins’ vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
8:16 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
Here's why New Hampshire matters if Biden and Trump are neck-and-neck
From CNN's Gregory Krieg
Two women, wearing protective masks due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak, cast their ballots at a polling station at Windham, New Hampshire High School on Tuesday. Charles Krupa/AP
Hillary Clinton won New Hampshire in 2016, but it was a very, very close race. In the end, she beat Donald Trump by fewer than 3,000 votes.
New Hampshire has only four electoral votes, but if this race is close and both campaigns are trying to build out scenarios to get them to 270, it could be decisive. It might also be instructive. If Joe Biden and Trump are neck-and-neck as the count takes shape, that could be a promising sign for the President as the campaigns begin to eyeball the Midwestern swing states.
That’s in part because the polls suggest that Biden is the favorite here. Trump’s team has projected confidence, pointing to their ground game.
The state’s most famous newspaper, the New Hampshire Union Leader, with its conservative editorial board, endorsed Biden this time around, after effectively ducking the question in 2016 by throwing its support to Libertarian Gary Johnson.
There’s little evidence that newspaper endorsements in big races like this move many voters, but in battleground states they are often a reflection of where the electorate is – or, on Election Day, where it’s going.
8:15 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020
It's just after 8 p.m. ET. This is where the race to 270 stands.
CNN has projected Joe Biden will win Delaware, DC, Maryland, Massachusetts and Vermont.
Donald Trump will win Kentucky and Oklahoma.
Based on these projections, this is where the race to 270 currently stands.
Biden has 30 electoral college votes. Trump has 26 electoral college votes.
