Trump wins Pennsylvania, securing the biggest battleground state

Former President Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania, NBC News projects, securing 19 Electoral College votes in the most hotly contested battleground state of the race.

Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris is just the second by a Republican in a presidential race in Pennsylvania since 1988. Trump was the only other Republican nominee to carry the state when he won it in 2016. It's also the first time a Republican has won a top-of-the-ticket race in the Keystone State since Trump's win that year.

Carrying Pennsylvania puts Trump one step closer toward reclaiming the White House four years after he lost the state to Joe Biden. He and MAGA-aligned candidates, including former Rep. Lou Barletta, state Sen. Doug Mastriano and celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, had otherwise failed to win high-profile races in the swing state over the past eight years.

Both Trump and Harris spent more time and resources in Pennsylvania than they did in any other state over the course of the campaign. Trump pulled out victories in Erie and Northampton counties, considered to of the most critical bellwethers in the state. He also performed better in red counties in the western part of the state, long a major source of GOP votes in Pennsylvania.

NBC News exit polling showed Trump winning 57% of Latinos in the state after exit polls in 2020 showed him winning just 27% of Pennsylvania's Latino vote. Another key element of his win: 50% of independent voters back him this time around, as opposed to 44% in 2020.

Though Harris made more appearances in the state and spent more money there than Trump following her entrance into the race, it was not enough. A woman has still never won a top-of-the-ticket race in the state. Some Pennsylvania insiders felt she was starting at a disadvantage compared to other battlegrounds because she lacked Biden's longtime political connections in the state.

Meanwhile, officials on both sides of the aisle, particularly in Pennsylvania, felt Harris would secure her win in Pennsylvania by tapping Josh Shapiro, the state's popular governor, as her running mate. Her decision not to name him will now be subject to further second-guessing, even though he said in a statement that he had reservations about the job after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was selected.

Trump, meanwhile, picked his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, because of his Rust Belt ties and what he and allies felt was an ability to connect with certain voters they were hoping to bring out to the polls in western Pennsylvania.