What states does Kamala Harris need to win to take the White House?

PHILADELPHIA — With North Carolina going to Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris's path to the presidency now appears to hinge primarily on recapturing the "blue wall" states that proved crucial in previous Democratic victories.

According to an internal campaign memo obtained by The Associated Press, Harris's campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon has identified Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as the "clearest path" to reaching the required 270 electoral votes.

The Associated Press has yet to call several key battleground states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada, where vote counting continues.

Trump has already secured victories in Florida and Texas, both of which have grown increasingly Republican in recent cycles. Harris, meanwhile, has won traditional Democratic strongholds including California, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.

Early data suggests Harris is underperforming with Black and Latino voters compared to President Joe Biden's 2020 numbers, while Trump has made gains with these demographics.

The tight margins across multiple battlegrounds suggest the final outcome may not be known on election night. 

Harris seeks to make history as the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to win the presidency. At 60, she would also be the first sitting vice president to claim the Oval Office since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

Trump, 78, is attempting to become both the oldest person ever elected president and the first former president since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to return to office after a defeat. If successful, he would also be the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency.