Former President Donald Trump won Pennsylvania on Wednesday, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in the critical battleground state.
Both candidates campaigned vigorously in the state, visiting it more often than any other. Trump won Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes four years after Democrat Joe Biden carried the state, flipping it from Trump’s column in 2016 on his way to capturing the “blue wall.”
No Democrat has won the White House without also winning Pennsylvania since 1948. The Associated Press declared Trump the winner at 2:24 a.m. EST.
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The call by the Associated Press comes shortly after Trump captured the swing states of North Carolina and Georgia, crushing Kamala Harris’ momentum and setting himself up well to capture the necessary 270 votes to win.
Trump now must capture only one more swing state to clinch victory.
After losing Pennsylvania to President Joe Biden in 2020, Republicans poured significant resources into the commonwealth in an effort to repeat Trump’s 2016 upset that helped him jump ahead of failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Pennsylvania has the fifth-largest number of electoral votes in the United States with 19 and is seen as vital in an Electoral College victory for either winner.
Harris performed worse than expected in the commonwealth.
Her decision not to choose Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate may have hurt her in her final effort, despite criticism from Democrats who thought it would help her win the state.
Harris made her final push in Pennsylvania on election eve, holding three rallies in the commonwealth and concluding her campaign in Philadelphia with Oprah, Lady Gaga, and a host of celebrities.
