It’s now 4am and an unexpectedly good night for Trump means that Hillary Clinton is under serious pressure.
At the time of writing, 35 states (that’s more than half) had been called as either red (Republican) or blue (democrat).
Donald Trump has exceeded expectations, outperforming polls. He has won key states such as Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.
Florida – an alligator swamp full of theme parks and retirement homes - was our best chance of going to bed at a sensible hour. When it became clear that this state was so heavily contested everyone watching this election resigned themselves to being in it for the long haul.
Over a year ago Trump was lambasted and mocked when he announced his intention to run for president of the United States. Tonight financial markets have reacted to Trump’s unexpected success so far. The prospect that the reality TV star who has run such a divisive, and often ugly, campaign against what he terms the ‘political establishment’ might actually win became a serious one. The Dow Jones futures were down as much as 600 points in after-hours trading . The Mexican peso basically went into free fall.
As commentators began to seriously discuss a loss for Hillary Clinton the Canadian Government's immigration website crashed.
Americans are reacting to the news that Trump and Hillary are still very much locked in a battle for the White House. Warning - Brexit comparisons are two a penny:
However, despite the palpable discontent at Trump's success, it's being called not as a battle between traditional political parties but as a significant victory for non-mainstream politics.
As the final hours of night creep into the early hours of morning on this side of the Atlantic it’s not looking good for Hillary Clinton. It’s still all to play for as the West Coast results come in.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.