Trump falsely claims victory in U.S. election

President Donald Trump falsely and prematurely declared victory in the U.S. election Wednesday (November 3) morning and accused Democrats of trying to steal the election.

"We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win... This is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner. So we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court."

But results from some key states are not likely to be known until later, due to this year's unprecedented volume of mail-in ballots.

But speaking to his supporters just hours earlier, Democratic opponent Joe Biden said he felt good about his chances, and stressed that the election wasn't over until every vote was counted.

"We believe we're on track to win this election."

Democrats' hopes of a Joe Biden landslide fizzled early on Tuesday night as Trump took early leads in Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Texas.

Projections on election night pointed to a Trump victory in Florida, a state seen as a must-win in his quest for the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory.

His strong performance there was powered by improved numbers with Latinos.

There were few surprises among deep red and blue states, with Trump taking conservative strongholds like Alabama and Tennessee, while Biden captured the Democrat-leaning Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Fox News and the Associated Press also projected Arizona as a win for Biden.

Biden now needs the so-called "blue wall" states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which helped propel Trump to victory in 2016.

But mail-in ballots there were not processed until Election Day, and vote counting could potentially stretch out for hours or days.