(NEXSTAR) — Former Pres. Donald Trump is the winner in Pennsylvania, earning the swing state's coveted 19 electoral votes, and giving him an Electoral College victory, according to Decision Desk HQ on NewsNation and The Hill.
The popular vote nationwide remained too close to call early Wednesday morning, but the win in Pennsylvania was enough to secure the presidency for Trump, according to Decision Desk.
Battleground Pennsylvania was widely seen as one of the night’s top prizes — and a do-or-die for either candidate. Back in 2020, the state was responsible for sealing Biden’s win, and in 2016, it helped send Trump to the White House.
The call came just before 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with over 92% of the votes in. Two other key battleground states, Georgia and North Carolina, were called in his favor earlier in the night.
Trump and Harris both hit the state hard in the lead-up to the election. Starting last week, Harris campaigned across the battleground state, with a rally in Harrisburg before appearances in Allentown, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on Monday. Meanwhile, Trump held a rally in Lancaster County over the weekend and events in Reading and Pittsburgh on Monday.
Heading into Election Day, Trump and frequent campaign guest Elon Musk began posting false claims of fraud happening during early voting in Pennsylvania. On his Truth Social platform, the former president wrote, “We caught them CHEATING BIG in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt held a press briefing to debunk the false claims, saying, “Spreading videos and other information that lack context, sharing social posts filled with half-truths or even outright lies is harmful to our representative democracy.”
In response to Trump and Musk’s fraudulent claims, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said that Trump was attempting to “use the same playbook to stoke chaos” as he did during the 2020 election.
However, it's less likely the Trump campaign will attempt to challenge Pennsylvania’s election results, now that the results are favorable. Nevertheless, the organization has already filed a lawsuit regarding early voting in the state.
Bomb threats reported in Pennsylvania Tuesday turned out to be hoaxes, but they forced some polling places to evacuate and extend hours, and delayed the counting of some ballots.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an evening news conference that the hoaxes posed no danger to the public — or to the election.
“Every legal, eligible vote will be counted and counted accurately, and the will of the people in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be respected," said Shapiro, a Democrat.
Neither Shapiro nor Pennsylvania State Police gave details about who might be behind the hoaxes.
Over the past few elections, Pennsylvania has emerged as one of the most important players nationally.
Back in 2016, Trump narrowly won Pennsylvania, earning its 20 electoral votes. For 2024, however, redistricting in the state resulted in the loss of one vote.
The state has voted for the presidential winner every year since the 2008 election.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
