Trump wins Ohio after hard-fought contest

Donald Trump has captured Ohio, a crucial battleground prize necessary for the Republican to win the presidency.

Networks called Ohio and its 18 electoral votes for Mr. Trump shortly before 10:30 p.m. eastern time, giving him a key victory in a state that was hotly contested by both candidates. Polls heading into Election Day had showed the Republican with a slight lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

padding-bottom: 1.6em; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">No Republican has won the White House without Ohio. President Obama carried the state in 2008 and 2012; Republican President George W. Bush won Ohio in both of his victories.

Exit polling showed that 49 percent of Ohioans believed that Mr. Trump would handle the economy better than Mrs. Clinton, while 45 percent favored the Democrat. Ohio voters rated the economy as their top concern.