It was a long night on Tuesday, despite not even providing the answers many had hoped for. Like predicted, the answer for who will be the next president still remains unknown as states contend with the hefty amount of mail-in ballots to count. However there is some key information and important battleground victories and defeats that occurred that can help set the stage for deciding the next president-elect.

In another poll upset, vital swing-state Florida went to Trump despite predictions that Biden would earn its 29 electoral votes. Trump continued his success in winning Iowa and Ohio (both of which had previously been placed by polls as a narrow race between the candidates). Texas, which is second only to California in its electoral votes, also declared itself red, which was favored by most polls but by a more narrow margin of a Republican lead than seen in Texas in years. However Trump observed some setbacks in Arizona (which has been red for 24

years) and Colorado, both of which went to Biden with a combined total of 20 electoral votes. There were some predictable occurrences as well; the west coast went entirely to Biden and Trump drew foreseeable success among the Bible Belt states.

Yet much is still a mystery at this point. Several key states have not called it yet, including Michigan, Winsconsin, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. Arguably most important though, is Pennsylvania, whose results might not be concluded until Friday.

It is possible that America will find out on Wednesday who has won, however people must also brace for the possibility of having to wait longer than that as states grapple with an unprecedented election. For while Biden is leading with 238 electoral votes with Trump trailing right behind at 213, the true outcome cannot be inferred until the aforementioned unknown states account for both in-person and mail-in ballots. Until then, try to breath- it’s going to be a trying week.