ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump, four years after a surprising loss in Georgia, will turn the Peach State red again in 2024, NBC News projects.
The call came just after 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday. According to unofficial state results a little before 1 a.m., the former president was ahead in Georgia with 2,636,895 votes to 2,509,360 for Vice President Kamala Harris.
There were some votes still to be counted in counties like DeKalb and Gwinnett, but they were not projected to make a difference in closing the gap between Trump and Harris. Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger had also earlier said it appeared former President Trump had an "insurmountable lead."
Support for Trump surged in Georgia outside the major metropolitan areas, with gains relative to 2020 of 1,000-2,000 votes across numerous counties in north Georgia that ultimately added up as major population centers, such as Fulton County, were closer to static relative to 2020.
Trump's close ally in Georgia, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, hailed his projected victory as showing "that citizens of this state care about kitchen table issues they know President Trump can deliver on in the White House."
"President Trump can fix what candidate Harris broke and I’m grateful for all Georgians who trust him to deliver on that promise," Lt. Gov. Jones posted on X. "It’s an honor to live in and represent a state where citizens put our nation first and want to make America Great Again."
With the projected capture of Georgia's 16 electoral votes, Trump was inching closer in the morning hours to securing a projected 270 needed to return to the White House. Just before 1 a.m., CNN projected Trump with 246 electoral votes to Harris' 182 as he appeared to be leading in other battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Earlier, Trump had also been projected to win North Carolina, signaling his advantage in the Sun Belt swing states.
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