USA AP: Trump wins in "swing state" North Carolina

Republican Donald Trump has secured the important "swing state" of North Carolina with 16 electoral votes in the US presidential election.

This was reported by the AP news agency on the basis of voter surveys and initial vote counts.

With his victory in North Carolina, the 78-year-old has won the first of the seven particularly hard-fought "swing states".

Politically contested territory

North Carolina, which was recently hit hard by storm "Helene", is considered politically contested territory. The storm not only left a trail of destruction in its wake, but also sparked a heated debate. Trump was criticized for using the disaster to rail against the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden and his challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris.

It was disputed that Trump spread false information about the work of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). He also claimed that the government had acted too slowly and inefficiently and used these statements specifically to sow doubts about the Biden administration's crisis competence.

Polls showed a wafer-thin lead for Trump

In 2016, Trump won the state on the east coast by a good three percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton, and in 2020 by just over one percentage point over Biden. Polls predicted a very close race before this election, with a wafer-thin lead for Trump.

To win, a candidate needs a majority of the 538 electoral votes - i.e. at least 270.

SDA