The 2024 U.S. Presidential election is shaping up to be one of the closest races in history, as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump enter the final stretch with a neck-and-neck competition for the White House.

As polls close across key states, early projections indicate strong performances from both candidates. Republican candidate Donald Trump is projected to win eight states, while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has secured five, according to early projections by the Associated Press.

In South Carolina, Trump clinched a victory, marking the third consecutive election in which he has won the state’s nine electoral votes. South Carolina has been a Republican stronghold since 1976, the last year it supported a Democratic candidate, when Jimmy Carter won over then-President Gerald Ford.

Kamala Harris, the current Vice President, aims to make history as the first woman and the first person of Indian descent to become President of the United States. On the Republican side, Trump is seeking a historic comeback after his loss in 2020. If successful, he would be the first president in over a century to serve two non-consecutive terms.

In 2016, Trump won the presidency with 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 227, despite losing the popular vote by approximately 2.8 million votes. In 2020, he was defeated by Joe Biden, who won with 306 electoral votes and a lead of over 700,000 votes in the popular count. Trump has disputed the 2020 results, a position that led to protests from his supporters and culminated in the January 6 Capitol Riots.

Florida Abortion Rights Ballot Measure Falls Short

In related news, Florida voters rejected a measure to establish a constitutional right to abortion, a significant win for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. This decision keeps the state’s six-week abortion ban in effect. The vote marks the first ballot victory for abortion opponents since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has led to varied abortion laws across GOP-led and Democratic-led states.

Stay tuned for more updates on the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.