A tale of two election night parties: Trump's MAGA event near Mar-a-Lago reaches a crescendo while Harris supporters cling to hope

Two very different watch parties have been going on in Florida and Washington DC , with Donald Trump supporters celebrating and Kamala Harris backers desperately trying to cling on to hope.

There were scenes of jubilation at the Make America Great Again event near Mar-a-Lago, where hopes have been rising that the former president could sweep all seven of the battleground states .

As positive projections for the GOP candidate rolled in, his supporters broke into dance, cutting shapes to the former president's favourite song YMCA.

Meanwhile, Harris has been watching the results coming in alongside former classmates and staff members at her alma mater, Howard University in DC.

Optimistic supporters of the Vice President gathered outside the school as the watch party got underway, but as the evening went on and her path to victory narrowed, it became dramatically more subdued.

Dancing stopped and attendees fixed their eyes on the large CNN screen mounted outside for the event, some covering their mouths in shock and even burying their heads in the hands.

The watch party fell silent as the VP appeared to fall behind across the key battleground states.

The Harris campaign then reportedly shut off the sound on the TVs, replacing it with music after a guest on CNN said tonight felt 'more like 2016 than 2020.'

Dejected supporters began leaving before midnight, according to reports, with the crowd thinning out.

Sullen faced supporters who remained gazed up at the big screen as they took in the unfavourable projections for their candidate.

'It's still early,' Sonya Lockett, a former classmate of Harris at college, told the New York Times . 'It's not feeling that great, but I'm optimistic.'

'We're still hoping for Pennsylvania,' said Makeda Haughton. 'This is disappointing of course. Not what I wanted to hear, but I'm not calling it until it's fully called.'

Cautious optimism turned to concern, with many attending the watch party heading home to monitor the race on TV.

'I feel... kind of anxious,' said first year student Amar Zarif.

Meanwhile there were massive cheers at watch parties across the country as projections that the Republicans would gain control of the Senate were announced.

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There has been a party atmosphere at the convention center at downtown West Palm Beach.

The Red hat-wearing faithful cheered and drank late into the night, with many hopeful that their candidate would turn up to celebrate with them.

The expectation is that Trump will address the country at the convention center, which is just a ten-minute drive from where he is watching the polls come in.

There were murmurings on the ground that Trump would speak to his supporters and the country from the venue at around midnight, though Trump earlier suggested he might wait until the presidential contest is called.