The Latest: Harris and Trump camps project confidence as results for historic election trickle in

Election Day is here. Voters are gearing up to head to the polls to cast their ballots for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in one of the nation's most historic presidential races. They'll also be determining which party will control the House and Senate.

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Here’s the latest:

Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a Donald Trump loyalist, has won reelection to a 10th term in the House representing a conservative district in central Ohio.

Jordan has spent the run-up to the election campaigning for Republicans across the country. Many see his activities as a shadow race of sorts to become GOP leader, particularly if it loses the majority and members seek a fresh start.

Jordan denies he’s running for any leadership job.

Jordan made an unsuccessful bid to become speaker when eight Republicans joined with Democrats in ousting then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Trump endorsed Jordan, but more centrist Republicans viewed him as too extreme and objected to rewarding someone on the party’s right flank after some had helped oust McCarthy.

Florida voters reject abortion rights amendment and keep in place Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 6-week ban as the initiative fails to reach the required 60% threshold. The measure faced an uphill battle in the deeply red state where Trump, a Florida resident, said during the campaign that he would vote against it.

In comparison to 2020, nearly all of Florida has moved right during this presidential election cycle.

Miami-Dade County saw the greatest increase, with an 18 percentage point shift right. It was enough to move the county from the Democrats’ column in 2020 to the Republicans’ this year.

In Massachusetts, the group Lawyers for Civil Rights warned that multiple precincts in Boston ran out of ballots, including in the city’s Hyde Park, Roslindale and West Roxbury neighborhoods.

In some locations, ballots were replenished but only after wait times of up to two hours, the group said.

The secretary of the commonwealth’s office said the Boston Elections Department opted not to send all their ballots to polling places.

Secretary of State William Galvin told the department to send ballots using police cars. Poll workers were also told get contact information for voters who chose not to wait. Those voters have been contacted and anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be able to vote.

Florida is the third-biggest prize of the night in electoral votes, but Trump’s win is no surprise since Florida has been trending Republican for the past decade.

The last Democrat to carry Florida was Barack Obama in 2012, but it since has slipped decidedly into GOP ranks in statewide elections.

Ron DeSantis won reelection by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022, a political lifetime after the contested 2000 presidential election came down to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to stop the recount in the race between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush.

The election night event is channeling the spirit of HBCU homecomings with a kickoff from Howard’s “Showtime Marching Band.” The energy continued with various line dances including “Wobble” by rapper V.I.C., Beyoncé’s rendition of Maze & Frankie Beverly’s “Before I Let Go” and “Jerusalema” by Master KG and Nomcebo Zikode.

Homecoming season is a sacred tradition at many HBCUs. Although Howard had its homecoming in mid-October, the live music and dancing is reminiscent of the annual festival that fills the same yard on campus and brings students, alumni and community members together to celebrate.

Republicans holding control of Florida’s Senate seat means that the race for control of the chamber is still hotly contested.

Democrats are defending seats across the map, including in Michigan, Montana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

If Republicans can win one of those, it will put them in prime position to take control of the chamber.

Democrats have a long-shot bid to win Texas if they can somehow unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, a firebrand conservative.

The FBI is warning that several fabricated videos are misusing its name and insignia to promote false claims of problems at the polls.

A written statement purported to come from the FBI urges media and bloggers not to publish information about attacks at polling stations, saying dissemination of stories about violence could cause such incidents to increase. The FBI says that statement is false and did not come from the bureau.

One fabricated video that impersonates the FBI and a federal government agency urges schools to suspend educational activities through November 11 because of the risk of violence, shootings and riots. Another claims the FBI received 9,000 complaints about malfunctioning voting machines. The FBI says neither video came from the bureau and the contents of both are false.

The FBI did not identify who might be responsible for the manufactured videos, but it’s the latest warning of disinformation that’s being spread and the latest instance of the FBI singling out the misuse of its name and insignia to promote false narratives.

Pennsylvania is not just a major player in the the presidential race.

It will also go a long way in deciding who controls the majority in the House next year.

Three Democratic incumbents look to fend off Republican challengers in competitive races.

Rep. Matt Cartwright is seeking reelection to a seventh term in a district that Trump carried in 2020. Another perennial Republican target is Rep. Susan Wild. They represent neighboring districts with similar geographies: small cities, suburbs and stretches of rural eastern Pennsylvania. First-term Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio is also in a competitive race in the western part of the state.

Meanwhile, Democrats are hoping to unseat hard-right Republican Rep. Scott Perry, a Trump loyalist and the former chairman of the most conservative wing within the GOP majority — the House Freedom Caucus.

Two election workers in southern Missouri died when their cars were swept away by a fast-flooding creek. The deaths were among five in Missouri blamed on flash floods that followed torrential rains across the state.

In Wright County, vehicles driven by a 70-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman were swept away by flooding Beaver Creek around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. The bodies were found more than four hours later.

Pennsylvania: Many of the earliest results will include mailed ballots, which have tended to favor Democratic candidates in the past. The state reported almost twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans voted in advance this year. But any early advantage could change later as more Election Day votes are counted.

Michigan: Polls are about to close across most of Michigan. In the past, initial returns sometimes favored Republicans because Democratic-dominated Wayne County, the state’s largest and home to Detroit, was slow to report mailed votes. But this year, counties may process mailed ballots earlier. That’s expected to make the count go faster.

Maryland: The first results will include early in-person and absentee votes, which could mean an early lift for Democrat Angela Alsobrooks since those votes typically have favored Democrats in the past. That margin could shrink if Election Day votes arrive with a greater makeup of Republicans. Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan is trying to become Maryland’s first GOP U.S. senator in over 30 years.

Of the 177 polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County, 32 received bomb threats Tuesday, county Police Chief W. Wade Yates said. Some of the threats were called directly into the locations where voting was happening, while others were called into 911 or received by email, he said.

As a result, voting hours were extended at five polling places in Georgia's Fulton County that were briefly closed because of bomb threats that were determined to be non-credible. Each voting location's hours have were extended for as long as they were closed. The extensions ranged from 10 minutes at one location to 45 minutes at two locations.

The campaign for Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is facing a tight reelection in Ohio, urged voters to remain in line even after polls closed Tuesday, sending out an email to supporters saying, “IF YOU ARE IN LINE TO VOTE, STAY IN LINE.”

Brown's success is key for Democrats seeking to maintain control of the chamber with their incumbents in states like Ohio and Montana.

Howard University students are reveling as their campus is pushed into the spotlight of American politics alongside its star alumna, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Lines of students awaited to enter the campus gymnasium watch party as well as the Harris-Walz campaign’s main event, to be held in the heart of campus, known as “The Yard.”

“It’s not every day you get a presidential election that’s going on in the heart of your campus,” said Tyler Henry, a Howard senior from Dallas.

“We all have bright futures in front of us, and to see Kamala express that anyone from anywhere can come here and become something huge is so important,” said Josiah King, a Howard senior from Boston.

Trump posted a clip on his social networks asking Republican voters to “stay in line.”

“We’re doing really well. If you’re in line, stay in line,” he says in the 13-second clip. “Don’t let them take you off that line.”

The clip was shared on various social networks.

It’s important to regularly test one’s fire alarms.

Just not at a polling place on Election Day.

In Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, Moon Area High School -- which hosts a polling place -- conducted “intermittent fire alarm testing” on Tuesday, according to court documents.

A county judge ordered the school to “immediately cease all inspections and testing ... until all voting is completed.”

Polls are closing in Ohio and North Carolina, states that could have major implications for who ends up controlling Congress.

Democrats in Ohio are defending a crucial Senate seat, currently held by Sen. Sherrod Brown, as well as three battleground House seats.

Republicans are also trying to make gains in North Carolina, where redistricting has tipped three House seats in their favor.

They could also pick up a fourth House seat in the state if Republican Laurie Buckhout can unseat incumbent Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat.

Senior Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski is projecting confidence as polls begin to close.

“He feels great,” he said of Trump, speaking at the former president’s watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida. “We are ready, when the election is called, to begin the transition to put this country back on track.”

Trump’s campaign sees its easiest path to the nomination running through Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

“Donald Trump has momentum,” he argued.

As for the persistent gender gap in polls, he says, “Women do not vote only on their gender … It’s a fallacy.”

Democrats’ hope of keeping control of the Senate is hanging by a thread after the seat flip in West Virginia.

To win control of the chamber, Republicans need to pick up a seat in any one of several battleground states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Montana or Nevada.

Democrats’ best chance at flipping a seat back in their favor is likely in Texas, where Democrat Colin Allred, a current House member, is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz.

Trump is holding a massive watch party at the convention center tonight. The former president himself will be watching the results come in at Mar-a-Lago, with family members and club members.

It’s TBD when — or even whether — Trump will decide to motorcade over to the venue.

Court-ordered redistricting in Georgia has substantially changed both the state’s 6th and 7th House districts, and the parties could potentially trade control of the seats.

After redistricting, the Republican-held 6th district leans toward Democrats, while the GOP believes it will gain the Democratic-controlled 7th district.

Even the respective incumbents for those seats are trying to pull off the swap.

Republican Rep. Richard McCormick is running for the 6th district, and Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath, who previously represented the 6th district, is running for McCormick’s old seat.

A senior official at the federal cybersecurity agency says no nationwide security problems are threatening the integrity of the elections, and is pushing back on claims of fraud in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Cait Conley, a senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters that though officials have responded to bomb threats, disinformation and other problems, there are no major incidents with a national-level impact.

Asked about claims of widespread fraud in Pennsylvania being advanced by Donald Trump and some of his supporters, Conley said federal officials had been in close contact with their state and local counterparts across the country and “we see no data or reporting to support these claims.”

Multiple Pennsylvania officials, including Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, have also said they had not seen any signs of cheating and have called the election secure.

As polls close in Virginia, a pair of competitive House races could give an early hint of who is faring better in the race for House control.

In northern Virginia, Democrat Eugene Vindman and Republican Derrick Anderson, both Army veterans and lawyers, are vying for a House seat.

In the military-heavy southeast part of the state, Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans is running for reelection against a fellow Navy veteran, Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal. Meanwhile in Georgia, Democrats and Republicans are poised to swap control of a pair of redistricted House districts.

Florida: First polls are about to close in much of Florida, which reports votes quickly. The first votes released will be early in-person and mailed votes. Those have tended to favor Democrats in the past, but it’s not clear that trend will hold this year. Florida adds Election Day votes soon after and counts few votes after election night, so races tend to wrap up quickly.

Georgia: Polls are about to close in the battleground state of Georgia. The first votes reported have historically included at least some cast before Election Day. We don’t know if the advance vote this year will favor Democrats as it has in the past. Voters don’t register by party in Georgia.

At 7 p.m. EST, polls will close in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia, though some areas of Indiana and Kentucky closed at 6 p.m.

At 7:30 p.m. EST, polls will close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

Phil Scott, Vermont’s Republican governor, told reporters outside his polling place that he voted for Harris over Trump, his party’s presidential candidate.

Scott said it was "not an easy thing to do being the Republcian sitting governor and voting against your party's nominee," according to video from NBC 5. But Scott said he "came to the conclusion that I had to put country over party."

Scott voted for President Joe Biden in 2020.

Billionaire Elon Musk said his pro-Trump super PAC will continue its work after the election, focusing on the 2026 midterms as well as local prosecutorial races. Musk discussed the future of his America PAC during a live event on his social media platform X. Musk repeated his support for Trump and said that a Trump victory would reflect an electorate eager for change.

“I think there’s a sea change in the country,” said Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX. “I hope I’m not wrong about that.”

More than a dozen Detroit police officers were milling around late afternoon inside Huntington Place and in the area immediately outside the doors to the massive convention room where election workers were to count ballots.

Barricades are up outside the room and escalators to and from the area have been shut off.

Everyone entering has to go through metal detectors. Any bags they have are being checked by security.

Detroit police said there were no reported issues inside or outside of Huntington Place. As of 6 p.m. EST, traffic outside the center was light with no protesters in sight.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Deputy Chief Franklin Hayes told The Associated Press last month. “We have a comprehensive plan.”

Officials associated with both political parties are denying Trump’s claim of “massive cheating” in Philadelphia.

On social media, one of three Philadelphia election board members, Seth Bluestein, a Republican, said there is “absolutely no truth to this allegation. It is yet another example of disinformation.” Voting in the city is “safe and secure,” he said.

Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Department of State said, “Pennsylvania counties, including Philadelphia, are running a safe and secure election.”

Trump provided no details about the alleged cheating. His spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about what he meant.

Another metro Atlanta county has seen voting disrupted by bomb threats. About an hour before polls were to close, officials in DeKalb County said they received bomb threats against five polling places.

Officials in the overwhelmingly Democratic suburb said voting had been suspended at those locations until police confirm there are no bombs. County officials say they’re seeking a court order to extend voting, which is routine in Georgia when a polling place is disrupted. Some polling places in Fulton and Gwinnett counties were targeted earlier Tuesday. Those threats were found to be false.

“Rest assured that we are working quickly to ensure every voter will have an opportunity to cast their ballot despite these bomb threats,” DeKalb elections director Keisha Smith said in a statement.

Trump’s allies appeared worried about turnout among men today, urging them to vote as Election Day drew to a close.

“If you know any men who haven’t voted, get them to the polls,” Stephen Miller, a longtime adviser to the Republican nominee, posted on X at 5:58 p.m. EST

Charlie Kirk, the leader of the conservative group Turning Point, seemed concerned earlier in the day. “Turnout is mixed and not where we want it to be,” he wrote on X. “We need more people to vote. We can’t let turnout flatline.”

He struck a more positive note at 4:11 p.m. EST “The men are arriving,” he posted. “Turnout is SURGING.”

Trump’s allies appeared worried about turnout among men today, urging them to vote as Election Day drew to a close.

“If you know any men who haven’t voted, get them to the polls,” Stephen Miller, a longtime adviser to the Republican nominee, posted on X at 5:58 p.m.

Charlie Kirk, the leader of the conservative group Turning Point, seemed concerned earlier in the day. “Turnout is mixed and not where we want it to be,” he wrote on X. “We need more people to vote. We can’t let turnout flatline.”

He struck a more positive note at 4:11 p.m. “The men are arriving,” he posted. “Turnout is SURGING.”

Hours before Harris arrives at Howard University, Black Greek organizations are practicing strolling, a tradition in Black Greek organizations, for her election event.

Black sororities and fraternities, known collectively as “The Divine Nine,” have been a source of strength for Harris. This year there was a surge in support from members of these groups, many of whom were excited by Harris’ historic presidential run despite being barred from endorsing candidates.

The vice president is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., which was founded at Howard University in 1908. Harris pledged as a senior at Howard in 1986.

A technical glitch in ballot printers at more than a dozen polling places in Arizona’s rural Apache County meant long waits for voters.

“Poll workers were encouraging people to leave and come back later in the day when the printer was fixed,” said Zane James, who voted in the community of Wheatfields after waiting 2 1/2 hours in 40-degree weather.

The printer was fixed, “but five to 10 people left and I don’t know if they are coming back,” he said.

Rita Vaughan, the Apache County elections director, said technicians fixed the problem after it emerged early Tuesday. She said polling places stayed open and people voted with paper ballots or accessible voting devices used by people with disabilities or language issues.

The Native vote helped push Biden over the top in Arizona in 2020. Trump drew a diverse crowd, including Navajo families from neighboring Arizona, when he visited New Mexico last week.

A federal judge Tuesday scolded Republican Party attorneys for what he called a “frivolous” lawsuit that accused election officials in seven Georgia counties of breaking the law by letting voters hand-deliver their absentee ballots over the weekend.

An attorney for the Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party told U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker he wasn’t trying to stop the 1,300 ballots from being counted but wanted them kept separate from other ballots.

The groups previously indicated they wanted the ballots as potential evidence for future litigation.

The GOP lawyers argued it was illegal for county election officials to accept mail ballots dropped off in person after early voting ended Friday.

Baker said Georgia law clearly states that county election officials are required to accept absentee ballots until the polls close on Election Day.

A judge has declined to grant a two-hour extension of voting hours in Kentucky’s most populous county after problems with electronic poll books led to delays at some precincts.

Election officials in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville, said delays involved loading poll books to include the 113,000 early voters who cast ballots before Election Day.

Ashley Tinius, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Clerk, said no voters were turned away and the electronic issues were resolved later Tuesday morning.

The Kentucky Democratic Party asked a judge to extend voting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The party’s motion said, “Delays caused by the e-polling books crash caused some voters to leave their place in line and forego casting a ballot.”

“There were numerous instances of voters unable to be checked-in and issued ballots,” the motion reads.

The state Republican Party opposed the motion, arguing that only the Kentucky General Assembly can set election times and any vote cast after 6 p.m. would be illegal.

Election officials in Milwaukee are recounting more than 30,000 absentee ballots because doors on the ballot tabulators were not properly sealed.

The recounting was being done “out of an abundance of caution,” said Melissa Howard, spokesperson for the Milwaukee Election Commission.

There was no reason to believe that any ballots already counted had been tampered with, she said.

Howard said they were taking the step of recounting all of the ballots in an effort to be “completely, fully transparent.” The problem was due to human error, she said.

The decision will delay the reporting of about 105,000 absentee ballots that could determine whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump win Wisconsin.

Polls in a few Indiana districts across the state and polls on the eastern side of Kentucky are the first to close in the nation.

The first large poll closing comes at 7 p.m. EST. That closure includes most of Florida, all of Georgia and Virginia, among others.

Fayette County has gone to court to block a local judge of elections from doing a unilateral hand count of ballots in violation of the state’s election code.

Marybeth Kuznik, director of the Fayette County Bureau of Elections, says in a court filing that Washington Township Judge of Election Vincent Manetta “reported that after polls close today, he intends to remove the ballots from the ballot box and audit or hand count the votes cast for each presidential candidate.”

Completed ballots are supposed to be run through tabulating equipment.

Kuznik asked a judge to order Manetta to comply with state election law. The judge has yet to rule.

The envelope was sequestered, tested and found to not be harmful, according to police. Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who oversees elections statewide, commended the county clerk and her employees for acting swiftly to ensure the safety of those in the area.

“This incident will be fully investigated. Anyone attempting to intimidate election workers or disrupt election administration in any way can expect to face criminal charges,” Henderson said.

Bomb threats to Georgia voting sites were made over the internet and included Cyrillic letters, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. That gave election officials a clue about the origins of the threats, he said at an early evening briefing in Atlanta.

“We jumped on it quickly and then the FBI then followed our lead,” he said. He said that once the FBI released a statement about the matter earlier Tuesday, the threats “kind of tapered off.”

He said of the culprits: “I guess they realized that dog won’t hunt today in Georgia.”

Harris senior campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter said in an MSNBC appearance that the vice president stayed focused in the final weeks of the campaign on how she aims to “make your life better” while Trump seemed consumed by grievances.

Indeed, Trump in the final stretch remarked that he wouldn’t mind if an assassin had to “shoot through the fake news” to get to him. He raised eyebrows by vowing to protect women “whether the women like it or not.” And his campaign had to clean up after a comedian warming up the crowd at Madison Square Garden rally referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

“I’m not going to make any predictions,” Cutter said.” “But I do think that we finished very strong. And if you were making your decision in the last couple weeks of this campaign, I think, you know, by significant margins, people were deciding for Vice President Harris.”

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