Donald Trump wins US presidency, GOP reclaims Senate majority

Republican Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.

Republicans reclaimed control of the Senate, picking up seats in West Virginia and Ohio. Top House races are focused in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to claw back some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.

Bitcoin hits new high as investors bet Trump’s victory will benefit cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin jumped nearly 8 per cent to a record $75,345.00 in early trading on Wednesday, before falling back and was recently trading at around $73,700.00.

Trump was previously a crypto sceptic but changed his mind and embraced cryptocurrencies ahead of the election.

He pledged to make America “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted crypto fans at a bitcoin conference in July.

He also launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.

Abortion proposals win in 7 states

Despite major losses for Democrats in the Senate and White House, the party’s central campaign issue surrounding protecting reproductive rights fared much better across the country as abortion rights advocates won on measures in seven states.

The last state to pass such a measure by early Wednesday was Montana, where abortion rights advocates pushed to enshrine abortion rights until fetal viability into the state constitution as a safeguard against future rollbacks. Though there’s no defined time frame, doctors say viability is sometime after 21 weeks.

In three others — Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota — voters rejected measures that would have created a constitutional right to abortion.

Montana enshrines abortion rights

Montana voters chose to protect the right to an abortion in their state constitution.

The ballot initiative sought to enshrine a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling that said the constitutional right to privacy protects the right to a pre-viability abortion by a provider of the patient’s choice. Though there’s no defined time frame, doctors say viability is sometime after 21 weeks.

The Associated Press declared the amendment was approved at 6:01 a.m. EST Wednesday.

Republican Ryan Zinke wins re-election to US House in Montana’s 1st Congressional District

Republican Representative Ryan Zinke won re-election to a US House seat representing Montana on Wednesday.

Zinke will serve a second term in the western Montana district, which was drawn after the state received an additional congressional seat from the 2020 census. Zinke faced a rematch against Democrat Monica Tranel, who fell a few points short of winning the seat in 2022. Zinke was US interior secretary in the Trump administration for nearly two years before resigning while facing several ethics investigations. Zinke served as Montana’s lone US House member from 2015 through early 2017, when he resigned to become interior secretary. The Associated Press declared Zinke the winner at 6:28 am EST.

Republican Tim Sheehy wins election to US Senate from Montana, beating incumbent Jon Tester

Republican Tim Sheehy won the US Senate seat in Montana on Wednesday, defeating three-term incumbent Jon Tester and flipping a closely watched Senate seat.

Tester was the only Democrat holding statewide office in Montana, which has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential contest since 1992. Sheehy, a former US Navy SEAL, ran as a Trump-supporting conservative in a state where the president-elect is immensely popular. The Associated Press declared Sheehy the winner at 6:26 am EST.

In Kamala Harris’ ancestral village, disappointment

There was a sense of disappointment in Thulasendrapuram, a tiny village in southern India, where Kamala Harris’ mother’s family has ancestral ties and where people were rooting for the Democratic nominee for president.

Residents in this village, who were keenly following the election results on their smartphones, were left silent as initial enthusiasm faded, even before the presidential race call, but many said they were proud that she put up a good fight. The villagers were hoping for a Harris victory and had Tuesday held special Hindu prayers for her at a local temple where Harris’ name is engraved in a list of donors. Some were also planning to blast off fireworks and distribute sweets had she won.

“We are sad about it. But what can we do? It was in the hands of the voters of that country. They made Trump win. We can only wish Trump well for his victory,” said J. Sudhakar.

As results became clearer, a gaggle of reporters that was stationed outside the village temple also quickly scattered away. The village — site of a brief media spectacle and euphoria since Tuesday — became almost deserted.

FIFA’s president congratulates Trump

“We will have a great FIFA World Cup and a great FIFA Club World Cup in the United States of America! Football Unites the World” FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on his Instagram account in a message of congratulations to Trump.

Infantino had tried to build close ties to the first Trump administration, making at least two visits to the White House and joining then-President Trump at a dinner event in Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum in January 2020.

The United States will host most of the games at the 2026 World Cup in men’s soccer.

Investors react to Trump’s victory in US election by buying on the German stock market

The Dax rose significantly by 1.5 per cent to 19,544 points in early Xetra trading, German news agency dpa agency reported.

Robert Halver, Head of Capital Market Analysis at Baader Bank said that “since Donald Trump stands for the economy, it can be assumed that stock markets around the world will go up. With one exception: China, because he (Donald Trump) will definitely impose tariffs at least on China. That will certainly make life difficult for the Chinese.”

“The nice thing is that European stocks, German stocks and export stocks can also benefit. Because we are still so well positioned in the industrial sector that we are helping America to become big again in the industrial sector, so to speak,” he added.

No info on whether Putin will congratulate Trump, Kremlin says

Ahead of the presidential race call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he had no information on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to congratulate Donald Trump but emphasized that Moscow views the U.S. as an “unfriendly” country.

Peskov reaffirmed the Kremlin’s claim that the U.S. support for Ukraine amounted to its involvement in the conflict, telling reporters: “Let’s not forget that we are talking about the unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”

Asked if Putin’s failure to congratulate Trump could hurt ties, Peskov responded that Russia-US relations already are at the “lowest point in history,” adding that it will be up to the new US leadership to change the situation. He noted Putin’s statements about Moscow’s readiness for a “constructive dialogue based on justice, equality and readiness to take mutual concerns into account.”

Peskov noted Trump’s campaign statements about his intention to end wars, saying that “those were important statements, but now after the victory, while getting ready to enter the Oval Office or entering the Oval Office, statements could sometimes change.”

Control of the US House is still up for grabs

Republicans have taken the White House and Senate, but the House is still very much in play.

With nearly 60 House elections still undecided, either party could gain control of the chamber. For Democrats, a House majority is the last hope of gaining a toehold in Washington and putting a check on Donald Trump’s power. Yet if Republicans win a House majority, they’ll be able to implement Trump’s agenda with more ease, including extending tax cuts, funding hardline border measures and dismantling parts of the federal government.

Still, it might take some time before House control is decided. Neither party so far has a convincing advantage in the tally of key House races. There are tight races all over the country, including many in slow-counting California.

Trump is elected the 47th president

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.

The victory validates his bare-knuckle approach to politics. He attacked his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, in deeply personal — often misogynistic and racist — terms as he pushed an apocalyptic picture of a country overrun by violent migrants.

The coarse rhetoric, paired with an image of hypermasculinity, resonated with angry voters — particularly men — in a deeply polarized nation. As president, he’s vowed to pursue an agenda centred on dramatically reshaping the federal government and retribution against his perceived enemies.

Republican Mike Lawler wins re-election to US House in New York’s 17th Congressional District

Republican Representative Mike Lawler won re-election to a US House seat representing New York on Wednesday.

Lawler is one of several Republicans who flipped traditionally Democratic New York districts in 2022. The 17th District contains the northern part of wealthy Westchester County and extends north and west to include suburban Rockland County and the Hudson Valley’s Putnam County. He defeated former Democratic Representative Mondaire Jones, who lost his seat after redistricting in 2022. The Associated Press declared Lawler the winner at 5:30 am EST.