President Donald Trump was narrowly leading Democratic rival Joe Biden in the vital battleground state of Florida on Tuesday, while other competitive swing states that will help decide the election outcome, such as Georgia and North Carolina, remained up in the air.
Florida the most closely watched state right now. Could be our first big indicator of the night.
It’s neck and neck right now. #sabcnews
— Sherwin Bryce-Pease (@sherwiebp) November 4, 2020
The two contenders split the first US states to be projected in the White House race, with conservative Indiana and Kentucky going to Trump and Democratic-leaning Vermont and Virginia going to Biden, according to projections by television networks and Edison Research.
But in Florida, a must-win state for Trump in his quest for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, Trump was leading Biden 50.3% to 48.7% with about 89% reported.
Biden still has multiple paths to the 270 electoral votes he needs without Florida despite having spent lots of time and money trying to flip the state that backed Trump in 2016.
Biden took the lead in other battlegrounds.
He led Trump by 52.5% to 46.4% in North Carolina with 68% of estimated votes reported.
Voting experts have warned that the early vote counting in North Carolina could favor Biden because election officials start processing mail-in ballots weeks before Election Day.
