Trump Crushes Harris Among Georgia Independents: Exit Poll

Former President Donald Trump is leading by double digits among independents in Georgia, according to CNN's exit poll.

The poll shows 54 percent of independents interviewed by CNN supporting Trump in the 2024 election, while 43 percent say they support Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Peach State is one of a handful of races that are expected to tip the results of the 2024 presidential election. Heading into Election Day, Trump was leading Harris by 0.8 percentage points on average across statewide polling, according to 538's tracking.

CNN's exit poll, which could fluctuate throughout the night, found that Harris has a massive lead among Black voters in Georgia (86 percent to 12 percent) and among Georgia voters aged 18 to 29 (60 percent to 39 percent). Trump holds a massive lead among white voters with no college degree (81 percent to 18 percent).

Exit polls offer insights into voters' attitudes and detailed demographic data about elections. The final results of the 2024 presidential election may not be called until later in the week.

Several counties in Georgia are keeping their polling locations open past the state's typical deadline after dozens of bomb threats interrupted voting during Election Day. In Fulton County, Georgia's most populous county that encompasses Atlanta, officials expect that all ballots will be tabulated by 11 p.m. ET.

Is Georgia a Swing State?

Georgia and its 16 electoral votes are expected to be pivotal in deciding the next president of the United States. In 2020, President Joe Biden won the state over Trump by just under 12,000 votes. Trump won Georgia by over 200,000 votes in 2016.

Four years ago, Biden led Trump among voters aged 18 to 44 years old, while Trump held the lead among voters 45 years or older, according to CNN's exit poll in 2020. Biden also lead among independents 53 percent to 44 percent.

Election models run by 538 ahead of Tuesday night considered the battle for Georgia a toss-up between Harris and Trump, along with four other key swing states: Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

By RealClearPolling's tracking, Trump was leading Georgia by 1.3 points on average heading into Election Day. Forecast models run by RCP, however, considered Georgia a toss-up.

According to the National Election Pool's exit poll, 40 percent of Georgia voters said that the economy is their number one issue in the 2024 election, followed by the state of democracy (28 percent), abortion (15 percent) and immigration (11 percent).

The majority of Georgia voters, 71 percent, said that they were "dissatisfied or angry" with the current state of the United States, according to the National Election Pool exit pool. Only 27 percent of the state said they were "enthusiastic or satisfied" with the state of the country.

Update 11/5/24, 8:25 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.