Washington, Dec 20
US President-elect Donald Trump has surpassed the necessary 270 votes in the Electoral College, the next step in the official process to become President.
Trump received 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 224. Six "faithless" electors voted for other candidates, costing Trump two votes and Clinton four, CNN reported on Monday.
Hawaii's electors are still set to meet later Monday, with the state's four votes expected to go to Clinton.
The results mean Trump -- who lost the popular vote by more than 2 percentage points to Clinton -- easily staved off a long-shot bid by opponents to turn Republican electors against him.
The Electoral College results will be officially certified January 6 during a joint session of Congress.
"This election represents a movement that millions of hard working men and women all across the country stood behind and made possible. With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans. Together, we will make America great again," Trump said in a statement.
He also claimed his win was "a historic electoral landslide victory in our nation's democracy," though Clinton actually won the popular vote by about 3 million ballots nationwide making Trump the worst-performing winner in the popular vote since 1876.
Trump was put over the top by electors in Texas. Thirty-six of the state's 38 went for Trump, while two ignored the state's Election Day results. One voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and one backed former Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
The first response from Trump's camp came from Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who tweeted: "Congratulations to @RealDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!"
Pence also wrote: "I'm honored & humbled to be officially elected today as the next Vice President of the United States of America by the Electoral College."
Donald Trump won in the electoral college to become the US President.
Trump became the winner Monday afternoon after electors from Texas cast ballots and put him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Results will be officially announced Jan. 6 in a special joint session of Congress, Washington Post reported.
While Democrat Hillary Clinton got a nearly 3 million-vote lead in the popular vote, Trump won the state-by-state electoral map — making him president-elect. Due to this fact unusual attention was on the 538 member electoral college, who formally elects the president.
The mostly symbolic calls for an electoral college rejection of Trump grew after revelations of a CIA assessment of Russian hacking that could have boosted Trump’s campaign and, in the view of many Trump critics, raised doubts about his legitimacy, Post noted,
Trump's opponents called on electors to chose Hillary Clinton — or Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, or other Republicans such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Ultimately, Ohio Governor John Kasich earned one vote from an elector in Texas. So did former representative Ron Paul (R-Tex.). In Washington state, three electors cast votes for former secretary of state Colin Powell, while another voted for Faith Spotted Eagle, a member of the Sioux Native American tribe from South Dakota who opposes the Dakota Access Pipeline. Pence earned the requisite electoral votes to serve as vice president, but in Washington state, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also earned some votes.
In Florida, Trump won all 29 electoral votes. He also got all 16 votes in Michigan. All 29 votes in New York went to Hillary. Bill Clinton was also an elector in NY.
