A race that was dominated by ugly, personal attacks appeared to have taken a toll on voters, and the country’s mood appeared darker and more pessimistic than it was four years ago, with about 60 percent of voters saying the country was seriously on the wrong track. Voters said they were eager for change in Washington, though they expressed dismay that issues had been overlooked in the brutal, long and nasty campaign.
Here are some other developments happening now:
• Ohio may be very close. While pre-election polls had consistently shown Mr. Trump in the lead in the Buckeye State, the results of early exit polls there suggested that late deciders had leaned toward Mrs. Clinton, giving her more of a chance. Among the one in six voters who decided in the past week, Mrs. Clinton held a modest but clear advantage over Mr. Trump, and she performed best among women, younger voters, black voters and the nonreligious. Mr. Trump’s strongest support came from men, older voters, white voters and evangelicals.
• Both candidates earn some expected victories. From the department of the unsurprising, the results from a slew of noncompetitive states: Mrs. Clinton won in Illinois, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Delaware, as well as the District of Columbia. Mr. Trump won in South Dakota, Wyoming, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.
• Evan Bayh loses in Indiana. Another blow to Democratic Senate hopes: Mr. Bayh, a former senator and governor from Indiana, failed in his bid to return to the chamber, losing to Todd Young, a Republican who attacked him as a Washington insider.
• Does anyone trust the presidential hopefuls? Months of personal character attacks by both candidates appeared to leave voters largely dissatisfied with their choices, according to early exit polls: Only about four in 10 voters viewed Mrs. Clinton as honest and trustworthy, while slightly fewer said that Mr. Trump was honest.
• Whose résumé is better? Mrs. Clinton’s experience appeared to pass the test with voters, about half of whom said the former senator and secretary of state was qualified to serve as president. Fewer than four in 10 said the same of Mr. Trump, who has embraced his status as a businessman and a Washington outsider.
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• How did the scandals play? More than four in 10 voters said Mrs. Clinton’s email controversies bothered them “a lot,” while a larger proportion — six in 10 — said they were bothered a lot by Mr. Trump’s treatment of women.
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