Just as he did in 2016, President Donald Trump carried Florida in Tuesday’s presidential election.
The win means Trump earns the state’s 29 electoral college votes.
READ: State of the Race: Both Presidential campaigns make final push for Florida
The results make for a repeat of 2016, when Trump won the state by earning 49% of the vote compared to Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton, who won 47.8%.
READ: How Trump, Biden address the COVID-19 pandemic differently during rallies
Trump’s tenure as president so far has included numerous controversies the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. His appeals for political help from Ukraine led to his impeachment by the U.S. House in 2019, but he was acquitted by the Senate on those charges at the beginning of 2020.
A recent Pew research poll found that 82% of Biden’s supporters said the coronavirus is very important to them, compared to the 44% of President Donald Trump’s supporters. Experts said the pandemic was one of the pivotal points of the candidates' presidency plans ahead of the election.
READ: How many Electoral College votes does each state have?
Days before the election, Trump, billing himself as an optimist, said the nation had “turned the corner” from the outbreak that still kills about 1,000 Americans each day. In rallies, he spoke hopefully of coming treatments and potential vaccines that have yet to receive approval.
On the other hand, Biden dismissed Trump’s talk as a siren song that can only prolong the virus, and pledged a nationwide focus on reinstituting measures meant to slow the spread of the disease.
READ: 9 things to know about the Electoral College
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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