Despite Harris Win In VA, Trump Projected To Win Presidency: Updates

Updated, 10:15 a.m. Wednesday

VIRGINIA — While Vice President Kamala Harris won Virginia's presidential race and 13 electoral Tuesday, former President Donald Trump is projected by The Associated Press to win the election and retake the White House.

Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, a comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

Harris had planned to spend election night with her supporters at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, D.C., but she never left the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory, the Virginia Mercury reported.

When the event ended around 1 a.m., Harris' supporters said the hope they felt at the start of the evening had dissipated.

“I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s very stressful right now,” Liane Crosey told the Mercury as she left the watch party. “Seeing the numbers coming in, I don’t feel as hopeful.”

In a post on X, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin congratulated Trump on his projected win.

"The American people decisively chose to return common sense, strength, and leadership, back to the White House and Senate paving the way for an economic revival, a secure border, and stronger America on the world stage," Youngkin said. "Our nation’s future is bright!"

To capture the presidency, a candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes. By Wednesday morning, Harris had 224 electoral votes compared to 277 for Trump.

"I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president," Trump told throngs of cheering supporters in Florida even before his victory was confirmed.

In state after state, Trump outperformed what he did in the 2020 election while Harris failed to do as well as Joe Biden did in winning the presidency four years ago. Upon taking office again, Trump also will work with a Senate that will now be in Republican hands, while control of the House hadn't been determined.

"We've been through so much together, and today you showed up in record numbers to deliver a victory," Trump said. "This was something special, and we're going to pay you back," he said.

In Virginia, the Democratic nominee for president has won in every election since 2004. The Associated Press declared Harris the winner at 11:42 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

The following preliminary results are updated as of 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. Be sure to refresh this page for the latest:

132 of 133 precincts reporting

Results in the election remain unofficial until certified.

For full coverage of the election in Virginia, go here.

Nearly a month after a disastrous debate performance against Trump had Democrats concerned about their prospects in the general election, President Joe Biden said July 21 he would not seek reelection. He endorsed Harris as the party's nominee, and she claimed the party’s nomination at the August convention in Milwaukee, along with running-mate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.

The campaign season was marred by two assassination attempts against Trump.

Trump on July 13 was the target of an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The accused shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed, along with a spectator, while two others were injured.

The second assassination attempt came Sept. 15 while the former president was playing golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. He was not hurt. The accused attacker, Ryan Wesley Routh, faces federal gun charges in the case.

On Oct. 12, local law enforcement said a man with firearms outside a Trump rally in Coachella Valley, California, was a threat. However, the man told a local newspaper group he was a Trump supporter.

Campaign Sprint, Contrasting Messages

Trump and Harris spent the closing weeks of the campaign battling over issues such as the economy, abortion access, and foreign policy, while appealing to different demographic groups.

On Oct. 29 with just a week to go until the election, Harris delivered what her campaign billed as her “closing argument” from the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. — the same site where Trump spoke to his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, before they stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In her speech, Harris sought to remind voters what life was like under Trump and then offered them a different path forward if they sent her to the White House.

“I’ll be honest with you: I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. But here’s what I promise you: I will always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me,” she said.

Days earlier, a Trump rally on Oct. 27 at Madison Square Garden featured speakers that required his campaign to rebut criticism. An opening comedian described Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage” and reiterated a racist trope about Black people and watermelon, the New York Times said. A spokesman said the comments didn’t reflect Trump’s views.

But given the opportunity to apologize at multiple events and in interviews, Trump instead leaned in. Speaking at his South Florida resort, he said that “there’s never been an event so beautiful” as his New York City rally.

“The love in that room. It was breathtaking,” he said. “It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest. And it was my honor to be involved.”

Trump also claimed he didn’t know Tony Hinchcliffe, the comedian who made the disparaging comments about Puerto Rico.

“I don’t know him, someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is,” he told ABC News.

Harris previously countered that the remarks were proof of the former president’s “hate and division and that’s why people are exhausted with him.” She also pummeled him with the label of fascist, after Trump’s former chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, described him in those terms.

Critics argue Trump’s discussion of deploying the military to target political opponents, including people he has labeled the “enemy from within” is fascism. He has long talked about attacking his enemies and declared to his supporters that he would be their “retribution.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.