Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the highest office in America on early Wednesday morning, defying predictions for the election.
“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division,” Trump said at his acceptance speech in New York City. “We have to get together. To all Republicans, and Democrats, and independents, across this nation, I say it’s time for us to come together as one united people. I pledge to every citizen in our land that I will be a president for all Americans.”
Going into election day, FiveThirtyEight predicted there was a 71.4 percent of a Clinton presidency and The Upshot, powered by The New York Times, projected an 85 percent chance of Clinton winning.
The momentum of the race shifted Tuesday evening as electoral counts began coming in. At approximately 9:30 p.m., The New York Times shifted their projection to favor Trump, predicting a 51 percent chance that the Republican nominee would become the next president of the United States.
Throughout the night, Trump’s electoral lead increased and stayed ahead of Clinton’s except for a short period after Clinton won California’s 55 electoral votes.
The Republican nominee won the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Hillary Clinton won California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
The presidential race was called at 1:40 a.m. when CNN reported that Clinton called Trump to concede the race.
“She congratulated us … On our victory and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign,” Trump said.
Trump spoke from his campaign headquarters in New York City, while Clinton announced that she will not speak until later today.
