Trump wins a second term. And, Republicans reclaim Senate control

(NPR) – Former President Donald Trump has been elected president again, according to a race call by the Associated Press. Trump won the key states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with a combined 29 electoral votes to clinch more than the 270 necessary to win the presidency. As of 6:15 a.m. ET Wednesday, Trump had 277 electoral votes total. Several states, including Michigan, Arizona and Nevada are still outstanding.

Prior to the race call for Wisconsin, Trump spoke at Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he stood flanked by family and staff and spoke to a crowd of supporters. “We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,” Trump said.

Trump said he won the popular vote, but those results have not been tabulated.

He will return to the White House after falsely claiming the 2020 election was rigged and stoking the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He is also the first convicted felon to win the White House.

Republicans have retaken the Senate. They could very well have in the neighborhood of 55 to 56 Senate seats when all the counting is done. The House will not be determined for some time. It could take a week or so, as there are many close races. Sixty-two seats remain uncalled at this hour. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the House. It appears they may come very close. But whoever wins control will do so by a very small margin.

— by Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s political editor/correspondent