Norfolk and Suffolk back Hillary Clinton – but large swathes of the United States have not

Guests watch the results on the television monitor during Hillary Clinton's election night rally. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (Image: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Volunteers decked in badges, who started the night with upbeat talk about the first female president suddenly did not look so sure of themselves.

One woman threw her hands up in the air and said 'that's it' as Trump edged ahead in the electoral college-rich state of Florida.

They were mulling the possibility of one of the biggest shocks in US election history.

They thought they had the hottest ticket in town after fighting their way in past a cast of thousands of NYPD cops in a city on its highest state of security alert.

Supporters of Donald Trump react as they watch the election results during Trump's election night rally. (AP Photo/John Locher) (Image: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The candidates and their emotional and fractrious supporters are within a mile of each other.

One side will run a victory lap.

Clinton campaigners were sure it would be them People have kept a brave face, celebrating even the smallest of victories.

On a stage outside the convention centre on the banks of the Hudson River, the slate of speakers soldiered on with speeches they expected to deliver with Clinton looking like she was ahead.

Trump campaign co-chair for Seminole County listens to incumbent Rep. John Mica of Florida's 7th congressional district concede defeat to Democratic challenger Stephanie Murphy. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

A video of Katy Perry raised spirits. There is still hope. But there is a long way to go.

Norfolk and Suffolk back Hillary Clinton – but large swathes of the US haven't

In a rare bit of good news for Hillary Clinton on a torrid night, Norfolk gave the Democrat candidate its backing.

She won 67pc of votes in the Virginia-based city – named after the East Anglian country. Virginia's Suffolk city also contributed to Mrs Clinton's victory the key state – but by a lesser margin of 54.63pc.

But the more rural Essex county in Virginia backed Donald Trump. He won 49pc of the vote to Mrs Clinton's 47.3pc of the vote.

Virginia was a rare glimmer of Democrat blue on the electoral map for Mrs Clinton after she was roundly beaten in Ohio and looked poised to lose Florida too.

Norfolk was established in August 1682 after a 1680 Act ordered the establishment of a port town of 50 acres in each Virginia county. Norfolk's population is about 250,000. It is part of Hampton Roads, a metropolitan area of roughly 1.7m that includes the cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, Suffolk and Hampton, among others. Today, the economy largely depends on the military, the port and tourism.

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