7 swing states switch to Republicans, Trump wins 2, Harris trails by 5

New Delhi:

Four hours after the US election was counted, Republican candidate Donald Trump has overtaken his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in all seven swing states that hold the key to the White House. North Carolina and Georgia were called in favor of Trump. He is also ahead in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada.

Swing states, also known as battleground states, are the key to victory in US elections. In these states, Democrats and Republicans have almost equal support, and elections are won and lost in these states. This year, the swing states are Pennsylvania with 19 electoral votes, Michigan (10), Georgia (16), Wisconsin (10), North Carolina (16), Nevada (6) and Arizona (11).

Both the former president and the sitting vice president are pushing for the magic number of 270 electoral votes that will pave the way to the Oval Office in the White House. According to current trends, Trump is leading with 246 votes while Harris is at 210.

Polls showed the state of democracy, the economy and abortion were the top issues on voters' minds as they headed to the polls. A CBS News poll found that nearly six in 10 people ranked the state of democracy as their most important issue, followed by abortion, which was cited as an important issue by five percent of voters. For one in ten, the economy was a priority issue.

According to a CNN poll, almost three-quarters of voters have a negative opinion of the current situation in the United States.