New Delhi:

Ahead of the US election, experts said seven key battleground states will decide who gets the key to the Oval Office in the White House under Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Six hours after the votes were counted, the Republican candidate has already won the swing states Georgia and North Carolina and is leading in the other five – Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada.

Harris got off to a good start with leads in Pennsylvania and Michigan before Trump overtook her and widened the gap. In Pennsylvania, which has the most votes among swing states, 94 percent of votes have been counted and Trump has a 3 percentage point lead over Harris. He has strong leads in Wisconsin, Nevada and Michigan and has a narrow lead in Arizona.

If Trump ultimately manages to win all seven swing seats, it would be a major upset since Democrats won six of them last time. Such a result would also mean a clear mandate for the Republicans and a complete rejection of the Democrats.

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).

Overall, Trump is now expected to win 248 seats in the Electoral College, with Harris trailing by 214 seats. Both candidates are striving with all their might for the magic number of 270.