Saturday, 07 November 2020_Joe Biden becomes president-elect of the United States after winning the pivotal state of Pennsylvania, according to projections by several news networks.
The former vice president took in the Keystone State’s 20 electoral votes, NBC News and CNN reported on Saturday.
The victory in Pennsylvania put Biden past the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House and defeat President Donald Trump, who had held a wide lead over the his Democratic challenger on the night of the election.
However, as election officials counted mail-in ballots, a method of voting more widely used by the Democrats during the coronavirus pandemic, the race shifted dramatically in Biden’s favor.
The victory in Pennsylvania was a fitting end to a bitter race given that Biden was born in the states and had launched his campaign with rallies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The former vice president also visited his childhood home in Scranton on Election Day.
Biden, 78, will become the oldest US president when he is sworn in on January 20 in the midst of the worst public health crisis in a century, the deepest economic recession since the 1930s and a national reckoning with racism.
Senator Kamala Harris, who was Biden’s running mate, will also become the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.
In addition to the projected electoral victory, Biden has also garnered more popular votes than Trump, setting a record for the most votes of any candidate in US history.
With 92 percent of the expected vote across the US counted, Biden led Trump 50.5 percent to 47.7 percent in the popular vote, a contrast to Trump, who won the White House despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
Biden's election will condemn Trump, who has had a longstanding obsession with winning, to the ranks of one-term presidents in America.
The Republican president has made it clear that he will not concede without a fight.
Trump has repeatedly and falsely declared victory, including in critical battleground states where vote counting is still underway and Biden is the projected winner.
Trump has also repeated conspiracy theories and raised doubts about the integrity of the entire US election system.
Trump says race not over
In a statement released after the race was called, Trump said, “We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed.”
“The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor,” he added.
The president insisted that his team would launch a prosecution in court to “ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.”
The Trump campaign has filed multiple lawsuits, several of which have already been thrown out.
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