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2020 South Carolina election results and updates

South Carolina voters picked their choices for President, U.S. Senate, and dozens of other contests.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Results are in for most of South Carolina's key races, which shows Republicans did well again in the state that has traditionally favored them for decades. 

We have live coverage of the results in the video player above, as well as analysis. You can also get the latest results to all races here, and we’ll be posting updates below as they come in.

[South Carolina Live Election Results: Click Here]

Here are the race calls: In the US Presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Trump pulled out an easy win. And in the toughest race of his political career, Lindsey Graham defeated Jaime Harrison to win his U.S. Senate seat again. Rep. Joe Wilson won another term for US House District 2 by defeating Adair Boroughs. And in the US House District 1 contest between Joe Cunningham and Nancy Mace, Mace won, flipping the seat back to the GOP.  Of course, there are many other races, including local races, which you can find at WLTX.com/elections

Quick Explainer: How the votes came in

As this year was an unusual one with COVID-19, a record number of absentee ballots were cast, in person and by mail. County election offices were allowed to begin counting absentee by mail paper ballots at 7 a.m. on Election Day. The absentee in-person votes are all stored on flash drives, which can be read by computers within minutes.

RELATED: VERIFY: Fact-checking Election Day claims and rumors

RELATED: Record 1.2 million absentee ballots cast in South Carolina before Election Day

While you’ve likely read about potential long delays, South Carolina Election Commission Chris Whitmire told News19 he believes almost all the vote will be counted by the end of the night. He said it’s possible there may be some absentee ballots that would need to be counted Wednesday morning, but that would be completed soon.

Latest Election Updates:

11:35 p.m.

11:33 p.m.

CBS NEWS PROJECTS TRUMP WINS MISSISSIPPI AND MISSOURI AND KANSAS

11:22 p.m

11:20 p.m.

11:15 p.m

9:50 p.m.

9:46 p.m.

9:10 p.m. 

9:09 p.m.

9:07 p.m

8:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump has won the state of Indiana.

The Republican nominee on Tuesday was awarded its 11 electoral votes. Indiana is the home state of Trump’s running mate, Vice President Mike Pence

8:23 p.m

8:13 p.m.  President Trump wins South Carolina 

President Donald Trump had captured the state's 9 electoral votes, according to the AP COLUMBIA, S.C. - President Donald Trump has won South Carolina, topping former Vice-President Joe Biden as the reliably Republican state went for the GOP again. The Associated Press called the race just before 8 p.m. Eastern.

8:06 p.m.

8:03 p.m.   States won so far 

President Donald Trump has won Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee, while Democrat Joe Biden has won Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

The results were not a surprise. Biden is very strong in the states that went for him, just as Trump is strong in the states he won.

Trump takes 33 electoral votes for winning those four states, while Biden adds 69 electoral votes to his total for winning seven states.

8:00 p.m. 

President Donald Trump wins South Carolina 

7:48 p.m.

7:48 p.m. 

Biden wins state of Virginia

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrat Joe Biden has won the state of Virginia. He was awarded its 13 electoral votes on Tuesday. Democrat Hillary Clinton won Virginia over Republican Donald Trump in 2016, helped in part by her choice of running mate: Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine. Virginia has grown increasingly liberal over the last four years, and as a result of the 2019 elections, Democrats now control every branch of government in the state.

7:45 p.m.

Voters saw election as a judgment on Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) - AP VoteCast found roughly two-thirds of voters said their opinion of President Donald Trump - either for or against - was what drove their choice in the election.  Only about a third said the same of his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. The expansive poll showed that roughly 4 in 10 voters said the pandemic was the top priority facing the country. The economy followed close behind, with about 3 in 10 naming it as the most pressing issue

7:42 p.m 

2020 Latest: Trump wins Kentucky, Biden carries Vermont

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump has won Kentucky, and Democrat Joe Biden has carried Vermont. They are the first two states called in the 2020 presidential election. Kentucky is reliably conservative, while Vermont is considered one of the most liberal states. Trump wins eight electoral votes from Kentucky, while Biden takes three for winning Vermont.

7:40 p.m.

7:30 p.m.     

With 1% of US precincts reporting   Donald Trump 71%     Joe Biden 27%

 7:13 p.m.

7:07 p.m.

Credit: Robert ‘Ruckus’ Cottingham
Rosewood poll cat

6:35 p.m-Less than thirty minutes until polls close

ST GEORGE, S.C. - The counting of more than 13,000 votes in one South Carolina county will be delayed because of a printing error. Officials said the mail-in ballots in Dorchester County did not have the proper bars, called "timing marks" printed at the top.

6:21 p.m.-Little over thirty minutes until the polls close

6:18 p.m-Less than forty-five minutes until polls close 

Have you had any robocalls telling you to stay home and not vote?

Officials are warning people to disregard the Election Day calls which have hit Republican-leaning states as well as Democratic ones. Election officials in a handful of states are warning voters to disregard "robocalls" urging them to stay home rather than go to the polls. It's unclear whether the calls were part of any partisan agenda.

6:10 p.m. Less than an hour until polls close

6:00 p.m-Hour until polls close

The Tuesday order mandated that sweeps happen at mail processing facilities in key states to ensure that no ballots are left behind. A Federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the U.S. Postal Service to immediately begin sweeping processing facilities in more than two dozen states for any mail-in ballots which had not been processed.

5:39 pm-less than an hour and half till polls close 

5:30 p.m-Hour and half until polls close

5:24 p.m- Hour and half until polls close 

4:58 p.m. - Two hours until polls close 

After a lull of several hours with few voters, the precinct at Polo Road Park in Columbia is starting to see a final wave of voters. Still, it's not a lot. Only about 360 people had voted in person today at that location. 

4:30 p.m. - First Time Voter

News19's Jenna Kurzyna  talked with Monic Washington and her 19-year-old son who is a FIRST time voter! He says he felt empowered and was happy to have his voice heard today! 

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