WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, November 9. /TASS/. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump won a surprise victory in a number of battleground states in the US elections and has real chances to win the race for the White House.

Trump grabbed 255 electoral votes out of 270 needed for victory, and Democrat Hillary Clinton has 209 electoral votes, the Real Clear Politics polling data aggregator said.

Clinton is winning in Washington, Vermont, Virginia, Hawaii, Delaware, Illinois, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington D.C. Clinton also grabs California that has 55 electoral votes.

Trump gained victory in Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Wyoming, West Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Dakota, Texas, South Carolina and Utah. He also leads in Arizona and Nevada.

Swing states

The vote count in the battleground states is underway. According to projections of the RCP and the leading US television companies, Trump has already secured victory in two key states - Florida and Ohio. Four years ago US President Barack Obama won victory there.

Trump is also taking the lead in Georgia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Michigan. According to The New York Times, if Trump gains victory in these states he will become the new US president.

The Republicans also retain the majority in the House of Representatives, according to the projections of NBC and ABC.