New Delhi:

Donald Trump is expected to become the first Republican in two decades to secure a majority of votes in the US presidential election. Trump's path to the presidency became clearer as he won key swing states, including North Carolina and Georgia, hurting Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris' chances of winning the White House.

The former president is on track to retake the White House and could become the first Republican to win the popular vote since George W. Bush in 2004. In the 2004 US presidential election, Bush won 62,040,610 votes and 286 electoral votes compared to Democratic candidate John Kerry who secured 59,028,444 votes and 251 electoral votes.

According to voter data from the last 20 years, Barack Obama achieved the largest popular election victory in 2008 with 69.5 million votes (52.9 percent) and a remarkable 365 electoral votes. His second term in 2012, while still a decisive victory, saw a slight decline in the popular vote share to 51.1 percent and the electoral vote share to 332.

In contrast, the 2016 election had an unusual result: Donald Trump won the presidency with 304 electoral votes but only 46.1 percent of the popular vote, while Hillary Clinton won 48.2 percent of the popular vote – a margin of 2.1 percent more than Trump's and but it wasn't enough to win.

In 2020, Joe Biden secured a clear majority in both the population and the electorate with 51.3 percent of the vote and 306 electoral votes. In comparison, Trump won 74,223,975 votes and his electoral votes totaled 232.

Trump gained early leads in key swing states, including North Carolina and Georgia. But the biggest prize of all was victory in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania's victory brings Trump closer to the White House. Those victories, combined with his strong showing in traditionally Republican strongholds like Texas and Florida, gave Trump a decisive advantage in the vote count.

As the results came in, Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign struggled to regain momentum. Despite strong performances in Democratic strongholds, their path to victory appeared to narrow significantly. Harris' campaign headquarters in Washington, DC, told his supporters that the clearest path to victory now depends on the so-called “blue wall” states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Now that Pennsylvania has fallen to Trump, all eyes are on the other two states.

On election night, there were dramatically different scenes in Washington DC and at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. At Howard University, a historically black college in the nation's capital, excitement quickly died down as results showed Trump with a growing lead. Harris supporters, many of whom expected her to win a groundbreaking victory as the first Black and South Asian woman in the White House, expressed concern and concern. Trump supporters, on the other hand, celebrated early victories at a party in Palm Beach.

If confirmed, Trump's victory would make him the oldest president at the time of his inauguration. His return to the White House would also make him the second president ever to serve non-consecutive terms, a feat previously accomplished only by Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.