Florida stays red: Trump wins key state

Around 8:00 p.m. ET on Election Day, with 88% of the vote tallied, NBC News and the Associated Press declared former President Donald Trump the projected winner of the key state of Florida.

As of that reporting, Trump received 55.8% of the votes to opponent Vice President Kamala Harris’ 43.4%.

The victory scored Trump 30 electoral votes. Candidates will need to receive 270 electoral votes — a majority of the 538 total — to secure the presidency.

In 2020, Trump won the battleground state with 51.2% of the vote.

This time around, Trump flipped Duval and Pinellas Counties red. Trump previously lost both of the counties to President Joe Biden. Duval County is considered a bellwether for Georgia.

Trump wiped the floor with Harris in Miami-Dade County by 11 points after previously losing to Biden by seven points.

Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on X, “Polls have closed in Florida. @realDonaldTrump has carried the state of Florida and has earned 30 electoral votes.”

Hillsborough County, a Democratic stronghold in previous presidential election cycles, also appeared to flip for Trump by the time the results were called.

Also in Florida, Republican incumbent Senator Rick Scott defeated Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by 11 points. In the House race, Republicans secured 17 seats, and Democrats walked away with six. Five seats were still up for grabs around 8:00 p.m. ET.

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