President Donald Trump is projected to win Ohio over former Vice President Joe Biden, according to NBC News.
Ohio has 18 Electoral College votes. Polling averages had indicated a tight race in a state Trump won handily in 2016 over Hillary Clinton.
Long considered a bellwether for national politics, Ohio has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1964. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning the Buckeye State.
But with Trump’s commanding victory in 2016 and a near Republican sweep in 2018 statewide races, Ohio’s red-state status had increasingly become a foregone conclusion.
Polling trackers had given little indication of which candidate held a clear advantage in Ohio heading into Election Day.
RealClearPolitics showed Biden with a slim lead over Trump that tightened to a neck-and-neck race in the final days.
GOP pollster Frank Luntz deemed Ohio a must-win state for Trump, along with North Carolina and Florida.
