Phoenix/IBNS: As counting has begun in the historic US presidential elections, Republican candidate Donald Trump is leading in 172 electoral votes while Democrat nominee Kamala Harris has been able to take a lead in 81, according to CNN network.

Each candidate is eyeing to touch the magic figure of 270 electoral college votes.

These projections are majorly from the states that these parties have dominated.

Americans voted in huge numbers on Tuesday to decide who between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democrat nominee Kamala Harris would occupy the White House next four years, in one of the most hard-fought polls.

The seven swing states of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin are expected to play a key role in determining who will be the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Donald Trump Tuesday said he is "very confident" about winning back the White House after casting his vote in Florida.

Speaking to reporters outside a voting facility in West Palm Beach, Trump said he ran a "great campaign" against his rival Kamala Harris, a Democrat wild card entrant in the elections after Joe Biden decided to opt out after stumbling in his debate with Trump.

"If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I would be the first one to acknowledge it. So far I think it's been fair," Trump was quoted as saying by AFP.

The build-up to the final stage of the election has been quite a dramatic one with two assassination attempts at Trump during his campaign phase and Kamala Harris entering the poll race in a surprising move after.

If voted to power, Kamala Harris will create history by becoming the first woman, Black, and Asian-American to lead the nation.

As per the exit polls, democracy, abortion rights, immigration policies and economy were the crucial issues on which voters cast their ballots.

Senior researcher Brian Scott tells IBNS: "People always ask who will win, and that's a mistake. Our elections aren't about who. The question is what idea will win? Trump will tell you the country is broken, and he can fix it. He can't fix it, of course, but the real question is whether or not the majority of us think the country is broken. If we do, we'll vote for a fixer, then we'll fix it ourselves."

"I live in Arizona and in this election, abortion was on the ballot. That's a much more important idea than any person. Elections have become popular recently. More people are interested, more passionate, more likely to participate, and that's a good thing," he said.

Although voting ends Tuesday, the winner may not be known for days if the margins in the key states continue to remain slim as predicted.