Donald Trump has flipped the US election map, winning a return to the White House. Here's how.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris started election day needing to win 270 Electoral College votes to become president.

Each of those votes is a hexagon on this map. 

Even before the polls opened, analysts rated 23 states as almost certain wins for Trump, with Texas and Florida also considered likely to go his way.

Trump barely broke a sweat in securing those safe states early in the night (aside from Alaska, which had late-closing polls).

And along the way, he increased his winning margins in many of them.

Clearly, there was a mood for change. Recent surveys found about two-thirds of Americans thought the country was on the wrong track.

Voters in southern states favoured Trump more than the polls had predicted.

He's on track to win Florida by about 13 percentage points — Trump has widened the margin there at each election since 2016.

Likewise, Texas went to the Republican candidate, continuing its red streak since 1980.

Several districts where the state borders Mexico have progressively shifted away from the Democrats since 2012 — a potential indication of discontent with immigration policy.

From this point, Trump needed a further 55 Electoral College votes to get across the line.

To gain those, he would need to win in some of the crucial swing states.

He moved ahead early in two of those: Georgia and North Carolina.

Trump beat Hillary Clinton in both of them in 2016 — but then lost Georgia to Joe Biden in 2020.

Trump visited North Carolina and Georgia often during the campaign, promising voters he would crack down on illegal immigration and turn around an inflation-afflicted economy.

By the time they were called his way, Trump was just 23 electoral votes short of winning the presidency.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris picked up the Democrats' usual stronghold states. But even here, Trump made up ground in many areas.

At this point, Harris still had a possible path to victory.

If she swept the blue wall – Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — she would have been in with a shot.

Women had been forecast to back Harris in overwhelming numbers, but that gender gap does not appear to have fully materialised.

AP VoteCast suggests just over half of women backed Harris, largely consistent with Biden's share in 2020.

As the hours drew on, it looked increasingly likely Trump would come out on top.

The former president took to the stage at his election party in Florida to claim victory, moments before a crucial result was announced.

Just as his speech began, the Associated Press called Pennsylvania as flipping to red.

Trump was on the verge of victory as he announced a new "golden age for America".

"Together we can truly make America great again for all Americans," he told his supporters.

The final formality was Wisconsin, with Donald Trump again showing his ability to break down the "blue wall", like he did in 2016.

Trump will return to the White House in January with a mandate for change.

For the first time, he’s also likely to win the popular vote.

The majority of voters have put their faith in their former president — and a convicted felon — as the one to lead them in the right direction.

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