Star Tribune
A sharply divided America decides between Trump and Harris, with first states called
WASHINGTON — A divided America weighed a stark choice for the nation’s future Tuesday as a presidential campaign marked by upheaval and rancor approached its finale.
Voters were deciding whether to send Republican Donald Trump back to the White House or make Vice President Kamala Harris the first female president. Polls closed in Georgia, one of the closely fought battlegrounds that could decide the election, along with a handful of other states. On Election Day, tens of millions of Americans added their ballots to the 84 million cast early as they chose between two candidates with drastically different temperaments and visions for the country.
Trump and Harris each notched early wins in reliably Republican and Democratic states, respectively. Trump won Kentucky and Indiana, and Harris took Vermont.
The economy and immigration are the top issues facing the country, voters said, but the future of democracy was also a leading motivator for many Americans casting a ballot in Tuesday’s presidential election. AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide, found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change.
Those casting Election Day ballots mostly encountered a smooth process, with isolated reports of hiccups that regularly happen, including long lines, technical issues and ballot printing errors.
Harris has promised to work across the aisle to tackle economic worries and other issues without radically departing from the course set by President Joe Biden. Trump has vowed to replace thousands of federal workers with loyalists, impose sweeping tariffs on allies and foes alike, and stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
Harris and Trump entered Election Day focused on seven swing states, five of them carried by Trump in 2016 before they flipped to Biden in 2020: the ”blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively carried in the last two elections, also were closely contested.
Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club, and said afterward that he was feeling ”very confident.”
Early returns were inconclusive in the Sixth Congressional District race pitting incumbent Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House, against Democrat Jeanne Hendricks in a rematch Tuesday.
Emmer, the House Majority Whip, had a significant fundraising advantage over Hendricks heading into his battle for a sixth term. He raised more than $8 million compared to Hendricks, who raised less than six figures.
Emmer began rising through the Republican ranks after leading the National Republican Congressional Committee for four years, helping the GOP narrowly win back control of the House in 2022.
But Emmer’s ascension in the House was halted largely by former President Donald Trump, who along with his allies had a hand in sinking Emmer’s chances. Their relationship since appears to have come full circle, with Emmer becoming one of Trump’s chief defenders.
Though Emmer no longer leads the NRCC, he’s continued to raise millions to elect Republicans through his joint fundraising committees.
When House Republicans hold leadership elections on Nov. 13, Emmer’s support for candidates likely won’t be forgotten if he runs for whip again or decides to vie for speaker should Republicans hold onto their House majority.
It was too early to tell Tuesday evening whether Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will head back to Washington, D.C., for another six-year term in a contest against Republican challenger Royce White.
The third-term Minnesota senator has achieved high popularity since she was first elected in 2006, easily beating her previous two Republican challengers with more than 60% of the vote.
White, a former professional basketball player and Black Lives Matter protester, is Klobuchar’s most unconventional challenger yet. He’s a political novice and provocateur who’s an ally of Republican strategist and media executive Steve Bannon, who was recently released from jail. He first ran in the Republican primary for Minnesota’s Fifth District in 2022.
Tuesday’s election will show whether Klobuchar’s appeal still reaches across party lines. She hasn’t been on the ballot since 2018, two years before her unsuccessful presidential campaign. The country has become increasingly polarized since Klobuchar last ran for re-election to the Senate.
Klobuchar, a former Hennepin County prosecutor, has pitched herself as a pragmatist, someone who’s worked with Republicans throughout her career to lower prescription drug prices, help veterans and advocate for more housing and child care.
The two candidates disagree substantially on major issues.
On immigration, Klobuchar wants to secure the border and push for immigration reforms while White supports closing the border entirely.
A man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Tuesday night after he was found in St. Paul with a gunshot injury to the head.
Just before 5 p.m., police were called to the area of Rice Street and University Avenue W. for a report of shots fired, according to St. Paul Police Sgt. Mike Ernster. When police arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound who was not conscious and not breathing.
St. Paul fire paramedics transported the man to Regions Hospital, where he was treated for life-threatening injuries.
According to initial reports, the shooting suspects are believed to have fled the area on foot. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, there had not been any arrests.
Investigators are still trying to determine the circumstances that led to the shooting and searching for information on who is responsible.
