Former President Donald Trump wins crucial swing state Georgia, AP says. What it means

Former president Donald Trump has won Georgia in the 2024 presidential election, according to the Associated Press.

Margins were thin, with the former president holding an advantage of less than 3% when the AP called the race just before 1 a.m. Wednesday. CNN, NBC and the New York Times also called Georgia for Trump.

Georgia was highly consequential in 2020, with President Joe Biden taking the state by a tiny margin, which helped him take the White House.

As such, the Peach State has been a major focus this election. Expert polls showed it virtually tied for weeks. Both Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, visited and sent surrogates repeatedly to vie for its 16 electoral votes.

Just two days prior to Election Day, Trump visited Macon for a rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater. He and his guest speakers, including House Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, urged supporters to head to the polls.

"We win this state and it's over," Trump said during the rally.

While many states were still counting and the election was yet to be decided when the AP called Georgia for Trump, winning the state represented a major victory. The AP had his projected number of electoral votes at 247 when it projected that he won Georgia.