The Republican candidate and former President of the United States (US), Donald Trump has won the battleground state of North Carolina, gaining its 16 electoral college votes.

The result which was announced on Tuesday night has put Trump on the path to securing the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the race.

But the majority of other swing states have yet to be called, meaning things could still tilt towards Kamala Harris’s favour, particularly if she can win all three Rust Belt states – Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

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While North Carolina’s win is big for Republicans, it is in line with how the state has voted in the past: Trump won North Carolina in both 2016, with a margin of 3.66%, and 2020, with a smaller margin of 1.34%.

The last Democratic candidate to win the state was Barack Obama in 2008. Obama later lost the state in his 2012 re-election bid to Republican candidate Mitt Romney.