Who won the US election 2024 - Donald Trump or Kamala Harris?

It has been a dramatic night in the US election as the first results were declared.

While six of the key battleground states have not yet been declared, momentum appeared to be behind former president Donald Trump who appeared to be a heavy favourite as the night wore on.

The Republican candidate inched ahead of Kamala Harris in the early hours of the race, with his wins in the red states of Florida, Texas and Alabama outnumbering Ms Harris’ in Blue strongholds including New York and Illinois.

READ MORE: US election 2024 LIVE updates as America decides between Trump and Harris

However, like it did four years ago, the election will be decided on the crucial battleground states that are yet to be called. Trump did get an early boost after winning North Carolina in the early hours of the morning.

The other so-called swing states of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan are still being counted.

As a result Harris' main route to victory now appears to be the 'blue wall' states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

At this stage no overall winner has been declared.

Ahead of the election the race was on a knife-edge, with pollsters putting the two candidates neck and neck as polling day got underway.

The economy – and reducing inflation – was seen as a key issue for Americans according to exit polling, but other areas of concern for voters include immigration, protecting democracy and abortion rights.

The winner will need to secure at least 270 electoral college votes to become the next president.

Results can be called by the US news networks, but that will take place only when the networks are confident that a candidate will win the state. That means for states where it is a closer contest it may take hours - or even days - for a projection to be made.