Republican candidate Donald Trump will succeed Barack Obama to become the 45th president of America, beating his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton after surpassing the 270 Electoral College votes required to win the contest.
Despite this, Clinton said she would not be conceding the loss tonight, through a message delivered by her campaign chairman John Podesta.
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Trump got over the line by securing votes in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the Associated Press.
From a long way out it has never seemed as if Donald Trump would actually become the president. After he initially announced his candidacy during the Republican primaries, he was dismissed as a 'joke candidate', with bookies offering odds of 500/1 on him winning.
After securing the Republican nomination his odds shortened. However, even on the eve of the election, Clinton was trading at 1.25 (1/4 or an 80 percent chance) of winning the contest on gambling website Betfair, whereas Donald Trump was trading at 4.9 (4/1 or 19 percent chance).
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Arnold Shwarzenegger's view on Donald Trump's run for president. Credit: USA Today
His rival Hillary Clinton has a career working in politics; in contrast Trump has none. But it now seems that the majority of voters view his lack of experience and position as an 'anti-establishment' candidate worked in his favour, rather than against him.
His campaign for presidency has been shrouded in controversy, including a recording bragging about groping women against their will, and a dozen women coming forward to accuse him of sexual assault. But, nevertheless, despite having little appeal to minority voters, polling seems to suggest that white working-class voters, especially living in rural areas, have chosen a candidate they believe will deliver change.
Trump has often talked of how he would defy doubters and succeed in securing a shock victory, similar to how the Leave campaign won the EU referendum in Britain. Now he has succeeded in this mission.
Lets not forget how Trump arrived at GOP Convention. Credit: C-SPAN
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Both candidates scored victories in states where they were expected to win. Trump captured conservative states in the South and Midwest, while Clinton swept several states on the East Coast and Illinois in the Midwest.
But after winning the swing states of Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, Trump's early advantage in the state-by-state fight meant he was able to pass the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the contest.
Sovereign bonds and gold have increased in value while the Mexican peso has gone into near free-fall as investors reacted to the possibility of a Trump win, with worries a victory by the New York businessman could cause economic and global uncertainty.
But what next now he has actually won it? Well, I guess it's time for American to become 'great again'.
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Over to you Donald...
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