By Jean-Paul Salamanca (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Nov 06, 2012 09:56 PM EST

As of 9 p.m., Mitt Romney is currently leading the Electoral College count 153 to 123, but has lost the critical swing state of Michigan to President Barack Obama,

CNN projections at 9 p.m. show that Romney has carried the states of Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, and Mississippi.

However, Obama has won a major victory-the first of the evening-in Michigan, which has 16 Electoral College votes. Obama also won victories in New York and New Jersey, offering 29 and 14 Electoral votes, respectively.

Michigan was a state targeted heavily by the Obama campaign during the election, with Obama banking on support due to his administration's $85 billion auto industry bailout that may have saved the Detroit automobile industry. This could tie into Ohio's election results, as Ohio also relies on jobs from the auto industry in neighboring Michigan.

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