CINCINNATI — Donald Trump has won Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, Decision Desk HQ projects.
The win is no surprise for the former president, who won all three states in 2020 and 2016. In fact, both Kentucky and Indiana have only voted for two Democrats since the 1950s, with Kentucky voting for southern governors Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton while Indiana voted for Lyndon B. Johnson and Barack Obama.
Ohio, on the other hand, has flipped between the two parties. The state elected Obama in 2008 and 2012 but chose Trump in 2016 and 2020 — the 2020 results breaking Ohio's streak of siding with the winner in 14 straight general elections.
Will Ohio select the winner this time around? We might not know the answer to that question by midnight.
While some state's projections were announced almost immediately after polls closed, other states will not see results quite as quickly.
In both Kentucky and Indiana, election workers are allowed to begin processing absentee ballots before Election Day and can count them before the polls close. That allows for less of a log jam Tuesday night.
For the state of Ohio, it's a bit different. Election officials can process ballots as they come in but cannot count them until polls close Tuesday. Once early absentee and mail-in ballots are counted the day-of votes will be tabulated.
There's a chance we won't know who the next president will be by midnight as the country must await results from battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada.
Polls close in Pennsylvania and 15 other states at 8 p.m. At 9 p.m., voting ends in Arizona, Wisconsin and other states. For states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, election officials can not count absentee ballots until in-person voting begins on Election Day. That can cause delays.
We'll continue to update this story with more information when it is announced.
Find the latest general election results from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana here.
