Trump says 'I feel very confident' after casting ballot in Florida

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) – Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday cast his ballot in the US elections in the state of Florida.

Wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat, Trump, alongside his wife Melania, voted at a polling station in Palm Beach near his residence.

Speaking to reporters following the vote, Trump said he has been very honored to find out the lines are long.

"I feel very confident. You know, we went in with a very big lead today, and it looks like Republicans have shown up in force. So we'll see how it turns out. But it seems that they have really shown up in force," Trump told reporters.

The Republican candidate said he will monitor the election results from Mar-a-Lago, his resort and National Historic Landmark in Palm Beach, and claimed that he has a "substantial lead."

When asked if he told his supporters that there should not be violence related to the election results, Trump said he does not have to tell them that.

"Of course, there'll be no violence. My supporters are not violent people... And I certainly don't want any violence, but I certainly don't have to tell… These are great people," he added.

Trump also said he will accept the "fair" election results.

"If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I'd be the first one to acknowledge. And I think it's been fair," he said.

Millions of Americans are voting to choose between Trump and his Democratic rival Hamala Harris for the 47th president of the US.

Voters are casting their ballots as Trump and Harris find themselves neck-and-neck heading into Tuesday's election. A compilation of polling from the RealClearPolitics website has Harris ahead by just 0.1% nationally after she gained ground in recent weeks against Trump, erasing his one-time lead.

Further down the ballot, voters will determine the composition of the next US Congress.

In the Senate, 34 seats are up for election. Senators are elected to six-year terms and one-third are elected every two years. Roughly four of the races are considered toss-ups, including contests in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which are currently held by Democrats.

Republicans are slightly favored to win numerical control of the Senate, but whoever emerges victorious will be left to navigate a precarious razor-thin majority. In the 100-seat Senate, due to procedural rules, parties often need 60 rather than just 50 votes to pass legislation.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, and as with the Senate, most forecasts have the chamber near-evenly split. Just a couple of dozen competitive elections will determine whether Republicans or Democrats will control the House.

At the state and local levels, voters will decide on a range of initiatives and races, from school boards to state-level ballot measures that can hold the weight of law. A total of 11 governor’s races across the nation are being contested.