Republican candidate Mitt Romney has come ahead of Democrat incumbent Barack Obama in US electoral college, according to projections by CNN for a total of 23 states.

As of 9 pm ET (4 am EET), Romney has a total of 152 votes in the US electoral college, with 270 needed to clinch the US Presidency, while Obama has 123.

According to CNN's latest projections, Mitt Romney is projected to win Kansas (6 electoral votes), Louisiana (8 electoral votes), Nebraska (3 out of 5 electoral votes), North Dakota (3 electoral votes), South Dakota (3 electoral votes), Texas (38 electoral votes), Wyoming (3 electoral votes).

Earlier CNN projected that Romney will win Oklahoma (7 electoral votes), Georgia (16 electoral votes), South Carolina (9 votes), Kentucky (8 votes), West Virginia (5 votes), Indiana (11 votes), Arkansas (6 electoral votes), Mississippi (6 electoral votes), Alabama (9 electoral votes), Tennessee (11 electoral votes).

Obama is projected to carry Michigan (16 electoral votes), New York (29 electoral votes), New Jersey (electoral votes 14 votes).

Earlier CNN projected that Obama will win Connecticut (3 electoral votes), Delaware (3 electoral votes), District of Columbia (3 electoral votes), Illinois (20 electoral votes), Maine (three out of four electoral votes), Maryland (10 electoral votes), Massachusetts (11 electoral votes), Rhode Island (4 electoral votes), Vermont (3 votes).

Thus, Romney has been projected to carry 17 states, and Obama - 11 states plus DC.