The 2024 US presidential election has a winner, with Donald Trump claiming the keys to the Oval Office following a nail-biting campaign for both Republicans and Democrats.

It is projected he has won the swing state of Wisconsin and with that, he is now projected to have won the presidency.

Heading into polling day (5 November), nobody could call a winner with the final polls saying that the result could have gone either way with both Kamala Harris and Trump within the margins of error in the key swing states needed to win the race for the White House.

But as election night went on, it became pretty clear pretty soon that the former US president would be taking up the position once again.

Trump actually declared victory himself before it was officially called, telling supporters at his campaign’s watch party in Florida it had been the ‘greatest ever political movement’.

The 47th president of the United States (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The former 45th and now 47th US president said it’s going to be the ‘golden age’ for America while also talking about Elon Musk being a ‘new star’ and promising Americans to ‘help our country heal’.

Joined on stage by JD Vance, Dana White, his wife Melania Trump, family and campaign staff, the Republican said he’s excited to ‘make America great again’.

“We have taken back control of the Senate,” he said. “Wow, that’s good.”

Trump called being president the ‘most important job in the world’ as he said he’ll run his government on the motto: “Promises made, promises kept.”

Our prime minister, Keir Starmer, congratulated Trump on the ‘historic election victory’ as he said he looks ‘forward to working with him in the years ahead’.

“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise,” he added.

“From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”

Millions cast their vote for this year’s 2024 presidential election (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Leading US polling forecaster, Nate Silver, published his final prediction heading into polling day, and out of 80,000 simulations run by him and his team, Harris won 40,012.

Both camps had been confident, with Trump’s team more vocal in the final week of campaigning while Harris’ team grew more and more optimistic as momentum seemed to grow ahead of the time to cast millions of ballots across the US.

Harris spent the final night of the campaign in Pennsylvania, a state both candidates desperately wanted to win in order to secure the presidency but was ultimately won by Trump.

But after voting closed, exit polls were released and results were verified, it was the Republican’s team that popped champagne corks as the final result looked more and more certain.

The battle for the White House is nearing its end, with both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump holding their breath as Americans go to the polls in the 2024 US presidential election.

So much is at stake, both domestically and internationally, and the Democratic and Republican candidates vary significantly in their policies and takes on voting issues close to the electorate’s heart.

Harris will be hoping she has done enough in the swing states to pip Trump to the magical 270 electoral votes, while Trump has said it is now or never if he is to return to Washington, as the former reality TV star saying he likely won’t be standing again.

And while the tag lines, rhetoric, and social media play a huge part in deciding the minds of many, those unsure can check out what each candidate is offering below.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on economic policy

Harris says she is going to prioritise bringing down the food bills for Americans, which she will do with a ban on inflating prices on groceries due to a lack of competition.

She also said she will reduce the costs associated with running a house, such as helping first-time buyers and raising the minimum wage.

On taxation, Harris said she will up tax rates on big businesses as well as high earners earning $400,000 a year. That, coincidentally, includes the president themselves. She also wants to increase capital gains tax.

She’s also said she will expand child tax credits to help families struggling to survive.

Meanwhile, Trump says he will ‘end inflation’ and make ‘America affordable again’, hinting that extracting more oil will help on this front.

The former president said he will also bring about lower interest rates, despite the POTUS not setting them or controlling them.

Trump says he will up taxes on imports while cutting taxes worth trillions of dollars, all while deporting undocumented immigrants.

Justifying the tax cuts, he said it will be paid for through growth and the import tax.

Kamala Harris wants to be the next POTUS (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s on women’s rights

Harris has put abortion rights at the heart of her campaign, saying it is a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body.

She says she’ll legislate to put these reproductive rights in to US law.

Trump has flip-flopped on this matter, having previously appointed the US Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the historic Roe v Wade judgement that resulted in 20 states bringing in strict abortion laws.

While he’s previously described these restrictions as a ‘beautiful thing to watch’, during this election campaign, the former president said he will not push for a national abortion ban.

He has also pushed for free IVF for women.

Trump is looking to return to the Oval Office for a final term as POTUS (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on foreign policy

Harris has committed to a co-operative international approach ,while also stressing the USA’s allegiance to NATO. She would continue the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine and call for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

Trump said he would look at the USA’s approach to Ukraine’s conflict with Russia while also stressing he will end the conflict, but without saying how he would do this.

On the Middle East, Trump has been critical of Israel’s tactics in the ongoing conflicts with the likes of Gaza and Iran.

In the USA, Trump has supported an aggressive reply to those protesting in favour of Palestine, such as stripping foreign students of their visas.

Trump and Harris have only taken part in one presidential debate (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on immigration policy

As vice president, Harris oversaw the issue of the USA’s border with Mexico. Crossings into the States spiked towards the end of last year, before settling at a four-year low heading in to the election.

She says she will take a tough stance on human traffickers exploiting people crossing the border, as well as increase presidential power when it comes to border control.

Trump said he will complete building the wall on the Mexico border that he first mentioned during his 2016 campaign, while also carrying out the largest domestic deportation scheme in the history of the country.

His so-called ‘Muslim travel ban’ would also be reintroduced, banning people from numerous predominantly-Muslim countries from entering the USA.

The time to vote is now (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on the environment

Harris has thrown her support behind a fracking ban and championing electric vehicles. But under the Biden government, she has also been involved in record-high US oil and gas production.

The Biden-Harris administration did sign the Inflation Reduction Act, which promised investments in renewable energy sources to move away from fossil fuels.

Trump, who has previously described climate change as an ‘expensive hoax’, has committed to clean air and water for US citizens.

At the same time, he says he will repeal the Biden administration’s laws enhancing environmental regulations.

He is also a fierce opponent to wind power.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on gun policy

Harris and her vice-president nominee, Tim Walz, both said they are gun owners, while also calling for tighter gun control to stop violence associated with the weapons, such as school shootings.

Harris is in favour of expanding background checks before people can get a gun, as well as also banning assault rifles.

Trump hasn’t put forward any policies to tinker with gun laws, instead embracing them as they are.

Donald Trump declared victory in the 2024 presidential election as he addressed supporters in Florida.

After winning the key swing state of Pennsylvania, the Republican took to the stage at his campaign’s watch party in West Palm Beach where over the cheers, he said it had been the ‘greatest’ ever political movement.

Saying they’d ‘overcome obstacles’ and promising to fix ‘everything’, Trump thanked the crowd for making him their ’47th president’ as well as the 45th US president.

Joined on stage by JD Vance, his wife Melania Trump and campaign staff, he said he’s excited to ‘make America great again’.

“We have taken back control of the senate,” Trump added. “Wow, that’s good.”

Donald Trump says he’s the new president (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The presidential race is, of course, yet to actually be called – and there could still be quite some time until it is. But Trump’s already called it a ‘political victory’ as the crowd kept chanting: “USA, USA, USA.”

“And it also looks like we’ll be keeping control of the House of Representatives,” he added.

Having not yet achieved the official required electoral college votes, Trump believes the ‘golden age’ of America is about to begin.

“This is a magnificent victory for the American people, that will allow us to make America great again,” he added.

Ahead of polling day, voters in the 2024 US presidential election faced a stark choice between two candidates who have offered hugely contrasting approaches and visions in their quest to be the so-called leader of the free world.

Tens of millions of US citizens cast their votes early; either voting by post or in person prior to 5 November.

The Republicans haven’t been announced as winners just yet but he reckons he’s in (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Those voting on polling day mostly encountered a smooth process around the country, with isolated reports of some standard hiccups that often happen. This included long lines to queue, technical issues and errors with printing ballot papers.

Harris, the Democratic vice president, had set her sights on becoming the first female president ahead of election day, promising to work directly with Republicans to tackle economic worries and other issues. It was a stance that was radically different from that taken by the outgoing president of the United States, Joe Biden.

Trump, the Republican former president who lost to Biden in 2020 after beating Hillary Clinton in 2016, promised to replace thousands of federal workers with those loyal to him and his MAGA movement.

He also said he would impose sweeping tariffs on allies and foes alike, and stage the largest deportation operation in US history.

The two candidates spent the waning hours of the campaign overlapping in Pennsylvania, the biggest battleground state.

Following on from the 2020 election, Trump launched an effort to overturn the outcome of the election that ended in the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol in 2021.

Well, it’s kicked off. The voting closed last night (5 November) and the counts have begun, with some states already being called.

And pretty soon, the US will have its new president. Only we don’t quite know how soon but as it stands right now, Donald Trump seems to be projected to win the 2024 election.

With a very tight race throughout the campaigns between him and current Vice President Kamala Harris, millions of American citizens cast their votes early; either voting by post or in person before yesterday.

Polls were initially neck-and-neck with some analysts reluctant to make firm predictions over who would win. But the former president, Trump, has so far been projected to win key swing states North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania, putting him right on the cusp of returning to the White House.

It’s looking like he might’ve done it again (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the race will be called quickly and we’ll have a confirmed winner.

When will we know who the new US president is?

So, the media call the result in the days or week (sometimes weeks) after polling day but this is only ever just a projection – the election is officially certified by Congress on 6 January.

How long it takes to be called depends on two key things: how close the votes are in individual states and then the specific laws in those states around vote counts and potential recounts.

Politics professor at NYU and senior geopolitical risk advisor at financial firm Kroll, Josh Tucker told The Independent: “The way to think about this is a razor’s edge coin flip with a wide margin of error which could lead to either candidate winning.

“But it could also lead to these scenarios where we could not know for days or weeks.”

And Dr Hans Noel, associate professor of government at Georgetown, also said: “It is possible it could be really quick,” but he did add: “I think we should be prepared to sit tight.”

She would be the first female US president (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Of course, as things are currently going with Trump winning key swing states including Pennsylvania, there is the possibility we know the projected result today (US’ election night).

Tucker pointed out: “One option for election night is that the polling has been off in a way that favours Donald Trump and it becomes apparent that he wins enough of these states that, even on election night, we’re able to see he’s probably going to win.”

But this still could all be dragged out by a state taking longer to count votes or problems arising.

And there’s still the chance that as the polls predicted it ends up ‘a toss up’ between the pair.

“It was Saturday after the [2020] election that we knew the winner,” Tucker said, so if this year is similar, ‘it will be days’ before getting a projected result.

Noel also agreed this is possible, but if legal issues arise with counts where things are much tighter then we could be waiting for weeks.