Presidential election night blog

Barack Obama elected president | 11:01 p.m.

Obama wins California, Hawaii, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, and Washington, giving him 338 electoral votes to McCain's 141 (AP). He will be the 44th president of the United States. After a tight battle against Republican Sen. John McCain, Obama has become the first African American president in the history of the United States.

Obama is set to address his supporters from Chicago's Grant Park.

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware will be accompanying Obama to the White House as his vice president. Biden made his first unsuccessful bid for president in 1988, and again this year before dropping out. A six-term senator, Biden is the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. One of his adult sons from his first marriage is currently serving in Iraq.

On June 4, Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination, beating Sen. Hillary Clinton in a tight primary race. The 47-year-old Democratic senator from Illinois stepped into the national spotlight in 2004, delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

By now, Obama's personal history is well-known: He was born in Hawaii, the son of a white mother and Kenyan father. Obama's father returned to Kenya when Obama was two years old, leaving him to be raised by his mother and her family, including his beloved grandmother, "Toot," who died one day before her grandson was elected one of the most powerful leaders in the world.

After graduating from Columbia University, he went to Harvard Law School, becoming the first African American president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, where he sits on several committees, including Foreign Relations, Homeland Security and Veterans' Affairs.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, have two young daughters, Malia and Sasha.

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Obama wins swing state of Florida | 10:58 p.m.

Obama has won the highly contested state of Florida, adding 27 electoral votes (AP). Going into the Election Day, Obama held a slim 2-point lead over McCain. Republicans have taken Florida in 8 of the last 10 presidential elections. In 2000, the Florida was one of the most compelling races of the election. After a controversial recount and intervention by the Supreme Court, George W. Bush took the state by the narrowest of margins.

McCain wins his home state of Arizona and its 10 electoral votes (AP). He also won South Dakota and Nebraska (AP).

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Obama scores big win in Virginia | 10:50 p.m.

Obama has taken the coveted battleground state of Virginia and its 13 electoral votes (AP). Like Indiana, the state has voted Republican in every presidential race since 1964. Leading into the election, Obama led McCain in the polls by a razor-thin 3-point margin.

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Key win for Obama | 10:40 p.m.

Obama wins the battleground state of Ohio and its 20 electoral votes (AP). Heading into the election, Obama led McCain by 7 points. Ohio was considered a must-win state for McCain. However, the Obama campaign flooded the state with volunteers in March, specifically rural and suburban regions. Obama had 82 offices in Ohio, more than double the number McCain had. Ohio has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1964. Obama has also won Iowa's 7 electoral votes. According to Yahoo!'s political dashboard, Obama has a considerable lead in electoral votes: 207 to McCain's 114.

McCain has won Texas, Mississippi, West Virginia, Utah, North Dakota, and Louisiana, totaling 62 more electoral votes (AP). ABC and Fox are projecting McCain will win Nebraska's electoral votes, though there are also reports that the state may, for the first time ever, split its 5 electoral votes.

Obama has won New Mexico's 5 electoral votes. Historically, the state has had close races: In 2004, George W. Bush beat John Kerry by fewer than 6,000 votes. In 2000, Al Gore squeaked by Bush with less than 400 votes. Gov. Bill Richardson was a rumored vice-presidential candidate earlier this year and is expected to be a front-runner for a Cabinet position, should Obama win the election.

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Obama wins 5 more states | 9:04 p.m.

Obama wins Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Minnesota (AP). The big wins here are Michigan with 17 electoral votes, New York with 31, and Wisconsin with 10. Obama held a huge 16-point lead in Michigan's polls heading into Election Day. The state's hard-hit economy has been the focus of both candidates during the campaign. The last time Michigan voted Republican was in 1988.

McCain wins Arkansas, Wyoming, and Alabama adding 18 more electoral votes to his count (AP). CNN, NBC, and Fox also project McCain will win North's Dakota's 3 electoral votes.

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Obama wins Pennsylvania | 8:42 p.m.

Obama wins the battleground state of Pennsylvania and its 21 electoral votes (AP). Heading into Election Day, he held a comfortable 10-point lead in the polls over McCain. Obama's campaign invested heavily in Sen. Biden's home state, with more than 60 offices throughout the state. The last time Pennsylvania went red was in 1988.

Obama has also won New Hampshire and its 4 electoral votes (AP). New Hampshire gave Obama the very first votes of Election Day, when he won the tiny town of Dixville Notch, the first Democrat to do so since 1968. The 75 or so residents of Dixville Notch began voting at midnight; the final tally: 15 votes for Obama, 6 for McCain. Since 1960, Dixville Notch has opened its polls just after midnight on Election Day.

ABC, CBS, and Fox project McCain will win Arkansas'  6 electoral votes. ABC and NBC also project McCain will win Alabama and its 9 electoral votes.

NBC and Fox project McCain will win the big-prize state of Georgia and its 15 electoral votes. Going into the election, McCain led Obama by a 5 percent margin, with 8 percent of voters undecided. Georgia has voted Republican in the last two presidential elections. Pres. Bush took the state twice, with huge wins over Al Gore and John Kerry.

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Obama wins slew of states, McCain wins 2 | 8:04 p.m.

Obama wins Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey (AP). These 8 states give Obama another 72 electoral votes. Meanwhile, McCain has won Oklahoma and Tennessee, giving him 18 more electoral votes (AP).

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TV networks project South Carolina | 7:47 p.m.

NBC and CBS project McCain will win South Carolina's 8 electoral votes. While Obama's primary win gave him a big boost against Sen. Hillary Clinton, the state has not voted a Democrat for president since 1976.

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TV networks project West Virginia | 7:32 p.m.

CBS and Fox project McCain will win West Virginia and its 5 electoral votes. McCain had a comfortable 9-point lead over Obama going into the vote. George W. Bush took the state handily in both 2000 and 2004./p>

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First 2 states called | 7:03 p.m.

Obama has won Vermont's 3 electoral votes while McCain has won Kentucky's 8 electoral votes (AP). In 1992, Bill Clinton turned Vermont blue after years of GOP rule, and the state has voted a Democrat for president ever since. In recent elections, Kentucky twice voted for George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

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First exit polls roll in

It IS the economy.

According to AP, "six in 10 voters picked the economy as the most important issue facing the nation. None of the other issues on the list -- energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care -- was picked by more than one in 10."

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Poll closing times and electoral votes (all times ET)

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Tonight's key states

Colorado
Florida
Indiana
Michigan
Missouri
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia

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Yahoo! News policy: Calling the winners on election night

Yahoo! News will rely on AP to call the state winners on Election Night. The electoral count and colors of states on the Yahoo! News electoral map will only change after AP has called a race. AP’s complete Election Night guidelines can be found here.

Yahoo! News also will report when at least two networks call a state winner. But the electoral count and colors of states on the Yahoo! News electoral map will not change based on network results. Yahoo! News only will report results from networks in the National Election Pool, which includes ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News and NBC News.

See more polls and results or read the latest from AP.