Biden wins New Hampshire in first battleground victory

WASHINGTON

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has emerged victorious in the first US battleground state to be called Tuesday evening, taking New Hampshire.

The campaign of US President Donald Trump had hoped to win in New Hampshire, a state Trump lost in 2016 by less than half a percentage point, as the president faces a more difficult path than his challenger to secure the needed 270 Electoral College votes to win the White House.

Biden's victory, called by The Associated Press, raises his Electoral College tally to 209 after he swept the US west coast by taking California, Oregon and Washington.

Trump remains competitive in the race, however, and has a sizable lead in Florida, which Biden's team had hoped to return to the Democratic fold after losing it in 2016, as well as the conservative bastion of Texas where Democrats sought an upset.

In North Carolina, however, the candidates are neck-and-neck. Trump is leading in the state by a razor-thin 1.3% with 95% of the expected vote recorded.

And in Arizona, Biden has a considerable eight-point lead with 75% of the estimated vote recorded.

The president has so far won 118 Electoral College votes, most recently adding Utah to his column, The Associated Press reported.

This year, Election Day comes in the thick of the US' worsening coronavirus pandemic. A record-setting number of voters have cast ballots early by mail or in-person at polling stations in a bid to avoid the crowded indoor spaces in which the virus thrives.

Some states, including Texas, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Colorado, saw more people vote early than the entire turnout in 2016, according to the US Elections Project.

In all, more than 101 million people cast ballots before Election Day.