Donald Trump wins race for White House as US president

Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has clobbered his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the race to the White House.

The business mogul garnered more than 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency after the polls closed on Tuesday.

Clinton went into Election Day with a lead in the polls, but her hopes of becoming America's first female president were rapidly shattered as results started coming in.

Trump's victories in the crucial battleground states of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina significantly narrowed her opponent's path to victory.

Supporters of Trump reacts to early results during election night at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York on November 8, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The Emerson College Polling predicted Monday that Clinton would win 323 electoral votes, and Trump was not set to gain more than 215.

Clinton had been leading Trump throughout the campaign in most of the polls except for the last week when she lost ground to Trump, and in some polls she was even trailing behind the billionaire businessman. 

Clinton came under attack after the FBI released new emails, saying they could be connected to a private server she used while she served as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

Trump had strongly questioned the legitimacy of the American electoral system. He called the election process rigged, and said the media had been colluding with Clinton to beat him.

The 2016 presidential race features two of the most disliked candidates in electoral history, multiple surveys have found.