Presidential election results 2020

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Melissa Mahtani and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 2:44 p.m. ET, November 23, 2020
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10:40 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

CNN Projection: Trump wins Kansas

President Trump will win Kansas, CNN projects.

There are six electoral votes at stake in Kansas. 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.

10:28 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

CNN Projection: Biden wins New Mexico

Joe Biden will win New Mexico, CNN projects.

There are five electoral votes at stake in New Mexico. It takes 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

Who won in 2016: Former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton carried the state, and President Trump won the general election.

10:28 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Catch up: Here's where things stand in the House and Senate races

Based on CNN's current projections, this is how the balance of power in Congress is shaping up:

Democrats have 40 seats in the Senate so far. Republicans have 38. Either side needs 51 seats to have a majority.

In the House, Democrats have 84 seats. Republicans have 119.

You can follow live updates on the congressional race here.

10:35 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

How the huge rise in pre-Election Day voting could affect when we get solid results

From CNN's Marshall Cohen

Diane Spiteri clutches her absentee ballot before dropping it off at the city clerk's office in Warren, Michigan, on October 28.
Diane Spiteri clutches her absentee ballot before dropping it off at the city clerk's office in Warren, Michigan, on October 28. David Goldman/AP

Because of unprecedented levels of mail-in ballots and early voting due to the coronavirus pandemic, it still may take some time until we get results tonight and final results may look different to what early results are showing.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, supporters of Democratic nominee Joe Biden have shown a strong preference for mail-in voting. Most of President Trump's supporters said they wanted to vote on Election Day. States count these different types of votes in very different ways.

As a result, in some of the most competitive states – including Texas — early results may look too rosy for former Vice President Joe Biden, before falling back down to earth and becoming more representative of the true outcome. In other states — particularly Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — Trump could see early leads that slowly narrow as more ballots are counted.

This won't be a sign of fraud or irregularities. Rather, it's just a reflection of how states count votes. Some states process early ballots first, and will report those early in the night, while others save them for last.

Here is a breakdown of what to watch for in the pivotal states.

10:14 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

It's just after 10 p.m. ET. This is where the race to 270 stands.

Based on CNN's current projections, Biden has 89 electoral college votes, and Trump has 72 electoral college votes.

Reminder: Each candidate needs 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency.

10:47 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Dana Bash: "There is no landslide" 

From CNN's Josiah Ryan

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:

10:09 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Trump campaign blurs the lines between politics and government on White House grounds

From CNN's Jim Acosta and Betsy Klein

Members of the media report outside of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Members of the media report outside of the White House in Washington on Tuesday. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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.

10:04 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

These are the polls closing at 10 p.m. ET 

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

  • Iowa
  • Montana
  • Nevada
  • Utah

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

9:50 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

CNN Projection: Trump wins South Carolina

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.