While the needle of the early leads is pointing at former President Donald Trump's lead, his Democratic rival Kamala Harris is significantly trailing behind in the latest rounds of vote count in the high-octane US Presidential election. However, a clear picture is yet to emerge on who will occupy the White House as the final results are still awaited in the seven battleground states.
As per the latest projections, Republican heavyweight Trump is picking up 230 electoral college votes as opposed to 169 by Harris. A candidate who wins 270 electoral votes or more becomes the president.
Senate elections: Republicans poised to take control
The Republicans are poised to take of the Senate with 49-40 lead as the Democrats fight hard to defend their razor thin 51-49 majority. Voters across 34 states are casting ballots to elect one of their two U.S. senators, while Nebraska voters is deciding on both Senate seats.
While the Democrats successfully defended seats in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, with incumbents Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey retaining their seats. Republicans made gains in states like West Virginia, where Governor Jim Justice secured a Senate seat.
Sarah McBride becomes first transgender person in US Congress
Democratic candidate and Delaware state senator Sarah McBride scripted history by winning a seat in the US House of Representatives and becoming the first openly transgender person elected to Congress by defeating Republican John Whalen III.
In her victory speech, McBride highlighted the importance of protecting reproductive freedom and building an inclusive democracy while also including affordable child care, paid family leave, housing, and healthcare.
House elections: Republicans leading with narrow majority
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for grabs on the Presidential Election Day. As of now, the Republicans are defending a narrow majority with 179 seats against the Democrats' 147.
With control of Congress at stake, the contests for the House and Senate will determine which party holds the majority and the power to boost or block a president's agenda.
Bomb threats disrupt voting in swing states
The Election Day, former President Donald Trump made claims of a series of bomb threats and baseless claims of wrongdoing in multiple battleground states. As per reports, the bomb threats in parts of Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania turned out to be hoaxes.
The threats were reported throughout the day at polling locations in three metro Atlanta counties, all with large numbers of Democratic voters, and into the evening at polling places and election offices where ballots were being counted in Pennsylvania. Bomb threats also were reported at three voting locations in Navajo County, Arizona, according to the secretary of state's office.
The FBI on Tuesday afternoon said many of hoax bomb threats in several states appeared to originate from Russian email domains. The dramatic and troubling end to Election Day came after a highly successful early voting period, when at least half of all votes expected in the presidential election had been cast. By Tuesday, more than 84 million Americans had already voted.
