US election race live: Trump leads Harris in early voting, wins North Carolina

Investing.com-- Donald Trump held a lead over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, early vote counting showed on Tuesday evening, and also appeared to be gaining ground in the key battleground states.

Coverage by the Associated Press and other regional networks showed Trump holding 230 electoral votes, while Harris stood at 210 votes, as of 00:10 ET (05:10 GMT). 

The AP said Trump won North Carolina, and was seen leading in other key battleground states including Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Voting in Nevada was yet to be concluded, while Harris largely won along the West Coast.

The AP reported that the Republicans had taken a majority in the Senate, and were also on track to sweep the House of Representatives.

A Republican sweep presents an easier path for Trump to enact major policy changes if elected, while Harris is likely to face an uphill battle in rolling out her proposals.

Still, with a bulk of the major battleground states remaining undeclared, the results of the election remained up in the air.

“Trends are pointing toward a red sweep although it remains early to make that call,” Citi analysts said. “It comes down to the “blue wall” states yet again, which suggests we might not know the results until Wednesday morning."

The dollar and Treasury yields rallied on the prospect of a Trump victory, while Wall Street futures advanced in Asian trade. 

Bitcoin also surged to a record high of more than $74,000.