Update:

TRENTON -- The chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign said early Wednesday that his candidate was not going to give up despite election results showing Donald Trump leading in enough states to give him the presidency.

"We can wait a little bit longer, can't we?" John Podesta told a cheering crowd Clinton of supporters in New York at 2:02 a.m. Wednesday. "Several states are too close to call."

He said Clinton would not speak until later on Wednesday.

"She has done an amazing job and she's not done yet," Podesta said. "Let's get those votes counted."

As Podesta was speaking to Clinton's supporters, the Associated Press showed Trump leading the race in Electoral College votes, 266-218. A candidate needs 270 to win, and Trump was sitting on leads in several states.

Dow Jones futures and Asian markets tumbled, reflecting investor alarm over what a Trump presidency might mean for the economy and global trade.

Clinton began the day as the clear favorite to become the first female U.S. president. But Trump broke through her blue wall of older industrial states that backed Democratic presidential candidates in recent elections, such as Pennsylvania, after winning swing states such as Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.

The presidential toss-up extended one of the ugliest campaigns in modern history by at least a few hours. It raised a specter of uncertainty unseen since 2000, when the race between George W. Bush and Al Gore hinged on a few counties in Florida, and was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump defied all norms of political battle, forging a groundswell of support by tapping into a deep vein of anger among voters over trade, the economy and immigration, crushing conventional Republicans in a crowded primary with promises to "make America great again."

Clinton -- an influential figure in American politics for nearly three decades, shaping policy as a first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state -- was hobbled by controversies stemming from her time in the State Department, including the terror attack on a U.S. Embassy in Benghazi and an FBI probe into her private e-mail server.

Both candidates campaigned frantically in the final days before the election, crisscrossing the country as they made their closing statements and exhorted followers to go to the polls.

While the race had tightened in recent weeks, Clinton was widely favored to win, with election tracking outfits giving her more than 70 percent odds.

But as the polls closed, the winds shifted, and Trump became the odds-on favorite. The turnaround raised doubts about the accuracy of scores of respected public polling institutions, which had predicted a clear Clinton win.

Experts surveyed ahead of election days called the possibility of yet another presidential race being won in the courts highly unlikely. David Becker, executive director and cofounder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research in Washington, said it would take "a perfect storm."

But attorneys for both parties prepared for it nonetheless.

"They're staffing up," said former Federal Election Commission Chair Michael Toner, counsel to George W. Bush's 2000 campaign. "You just don't know how it's going to play out. You've got to have preparation in 10 or 12 states.

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As expected, Clinton carried New Jersey, which has not voted for a Republican since 1988.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook