Donald Trump becomes 47th US President after hard-fought race

WASHINGTON (WDRB/AP) — Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, becoming only the second candidate to win nonconsecutive presidencies since Grover Cleveland.

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

He easily carried both Kentucky and Indiana, receiving 64% of the vote in Kentucky and 59% in Indiana, with 90% of ballots counted.

"We've been through so much together, and today you showed up in record numbers to deliver a victory," Trump told throngs of his cheering supporters in Florida. "This was something special and we're going to pay you back."

Speaking to his supporters Wednesday morning, Trump claimed he had won "an unprecedented and powerful mandate."

The results cap a historically tumultuous and competitive election season that included two assassination attempts targeting Trump and a shift to a new Democratic nominee just a month before the party's convention. Trump will inherit a range of challenges when he assumes office on Jan. 20, including heightened political polarization and global crises that are testing America's influence abroad.

His win against Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, marks the second time he has defeated a female rival in a general election. Harris, the current vice president, rose to the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden exited the race amid alarm about his advanced age. Despite an initial surge of energy around her campaign, she struggled during a compressed timeline to convince disillusioned voters that she represented a break from an unpopular administration.

Harris has not publicly spoken since the race was called. Her campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, said she would speak Wednesday. "You will hear from her tomorrow. She will be back here tomorrow."

Trump is the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. He is the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, is the oldest person elected to the office. His vice president, 40-year-old Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will become the highest-ranking member of the millennial generation in the U.S. government.

Congratulations started pouring in from world leaders even before Trump's victory was announced.

When he arrived in Washington 2017, Trump knew little about the levers of federal power. His agenda was stymied by Congress and the courts, as well as senior staff members who took it upon themselves to serve as guardrails.

This time, Trump has said he would surround himself with loyalists who will enact his agenda, no questions asked, and who will arrive with hundreds of draft executive orders, legislative proposals and in-depth policy papers in hand.