EXPLAINER: Why AP called Ohio for Trump

The AP declared President Donald Trump the winner of Ohio early Wednesday, after an analysis of ballots statewide concluded there were not enough outstanding to allow Democratic nominee Joe Biden to catch up

Election 2020 Ohio Voting (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

WHY AP CALLED OHIO FOR TRUMP:

The AP declared President Donald Trump the winner of Ohio at 12:17 a.m. EST Wednesday, after an analysis of ballots statewide concluded there were not enough outstanding to allow Democratic nominee Joe Biden to catch up.

With 85% of the expected vote counted, Biden led Trump by roughly 4 percentage points — or about 120,000 votes out of 3 million counted. The remaining votes left to be counted in Democratic areas — both absentee and provisional ballots — were not enough for Biden to overtake Trump’s lead.

For a long time, Ohio was the quintessential swing state, which Barack Obama won twice.

Yet Trump carried it by 8 points in 2016. And after Republican wins statewide over the past decade, it has increasingly proven to be out of Democrats’ reach.