PHILADELPHIA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, Edison Research projected, taking him closer to completing a stunning political comeback four years after he left the White House.

The outcome remained uncertain in five other states expected to determine the winner.

But Trump was showing strength across broad swaths of the country. He had won 246 Electoral College votes to Harris' 182. A candidate needs a total of at least 270 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College to claim the presidency.

Trump's wins in North Carolina and Georgia left Harris with a narrow path to victory through the Rust Belt trio of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, though she was trailing in all three states. The former president was headed to a convention center near his home in Palm Beach, Florida, to address supporters, a campaign aide told Reuters.

Republicans won a U.S. Senate majority after flipping Democratic seats in West Virginia and Ohio. Neither party appeared to have an edge in the fight for control of the House of Representatives where Republicans currently hold a narrow majority.

Trump went into Election Day with a 50-50 chance of reclaiming the White House, a remarkable turnaround from Jan. 6, 2021, when many pundits pronounced his political career to be over. That day, a mob of his supporters stormed Congress in a violent attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Trump picked up more support from Hispanics, traditionally Democratic voters, and among lower-income households that have keenly felt the sting of price rises since the last presidential election in 2020, according to exit polls from Edison.

Trump won 45% of Hispanic voters nationwide, trailing Harris with 53% but up 13 percentage points from 2020.

Voters whose top issue was the economy voted overwhelmingly for Trump, especially if they felt they were worse off financially than they were four years ago.

About 31% of voters said the economy was their top issue, and they voted for Trump by a 79%-to-20% margin, according to exit polls. Some 45% of voters across the country said their family's financial situation was worse off today than four years ago, and they favored Trump 80% to 17% for Harris.

Photo from Reuters