Most polls predicted that the race for the White House would be close, with seven key battleground states.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris needed to win 270 Electoral College votes to secure the keys to the White House.

Each state has a different number of votes, and in 2020 some had only a few hundred thousand votes.

Pollsters had suggested Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania And Wisconsin the race would be won there.

North Carolina – Republicans hold

North Carolina, which has 16 votes in the Electoral College, went to the Republican Party by fewer than 100,000 votes in 2020.

It was the first of the contested states to be forecast after polls closed at 7.30pm (12.30pm in the UK).

A projected Republican victory was announced at 11.36pm (4.36am UK time).

Georgia – Republican win

Georgia was won by Democrats with 16 Electoral College votes in 2020 and was a key state on Joe Biden's path to the White House.

He was the first Democratic candidate to win the state in almost three decades.

Polls closed at 7pm (12pm in the UK) and the result for Trump was forecast shortly after 12.30pm (5.30am in the UK).

Pennsylvania – Republican win

Pennsylvania was another state that Democrats won in the last presidential election.

But just after 2 a.m. (7 a.m. in the U.K.), the state and its 19 electoral college votes were expected to go Republican.

At 8pm (1am in the UK), polls closed in the Rust Belt state – where the Harris campaign had pinned its hopes of victory.

Shortly after this forecast, at 2.30am (7.30am in the UK), Donald Trump claimed victory in a speech to his supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Arizona – Too close to call

Arizona was once considered a Republican stronghold, but in 2020 it was won by Democrats.

Polls closed at 2am (7am in the UK) in the state, which has 11 electoral college votes.

Michigan – Too close to call

There are 15 Electoral College votes available in Michigan, where polls closed at 9pm (2am in the UK).

In 2020, Democrats won the state after Trump became the first Republican to win it in several years in 2016.

Nevada – Too close to call

Polls in the predominantly rural state of Nevada closed at 10pm (3am in the UK).

It has six votes in the Electoral College and went to the Democrats in 2020.

Wisconsin – Too close to call

Wisconsin has 10 votes in the Electoral College and voted Democratic in 2020.

Wisconsin is considered a model state and has supported the winning candidate since 2008.

Polling stations there closed at 9pm (2am in the UK).