Trump leads Clinton as polls begin to close

By Michael Hernandez and Canberk Yuksel

WASHINGTON (AA) – Early exit polls shows Republican nominee Donald Trump with a sizable lead on Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton in a handful of states with just hours to go in the race.

Polls in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia were among the first to begin closing at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (0000GMT).

Trump is besting Clinton in Kentucky with its eight electoral college votes 68 percent to Clinton’s 28, according to an exit poll from CNN. A similar showing for Trump is beginning to take shape in Indiana and West Virginia, and multiple news outlets have called all three states for the Republican billionaire.

The states were widely expected to swing Republican with strong conservative bases.

In key battleground Florida, Clinton has eeked out a narrow lead as polls prepare to close at 8 p.m.

She has an early lead in Vermont, and CNN and MSNBC have declared Clinton the winner in that state.

In a blistering sign of voter dissatisfaction, an NBC News exit poll showed a broad majority of voters, 61 percent, held unfavorable views of both candidates.

"I voted Hillary just because I want Trump to be embarrassed,” said Adam Brooks, who spoke to Anadolu Agency at Public School 59 in Manhattan where Trump voted earlier in the day.

Also voting at the school was Justin Cable who said he was adamant he would not lend his support to Trump.

“I just think he is a poor choice to represent this country,” he said.

Trump said earlier in the day he would not necessarily accept the results, continuing to break with American tradition, and raising concerns about possible unrest in the wake of the election.

With voting ongoing in most of the country, a polling location outside of Los Angeles was forced to go on lockdown after a shooting occurred nearby. At least one person was dead and multiple others were wounded, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The suspect is reportedly heavily armed and has barricaded himself inside a house.