Capping his third bid for the White House, former Vice President Joe Biden laid claim to the presidency on Saturday, as his birth state of Pennsylvania delivered even more votes from an extended post-election vote count, triggering calls by major news organizations to declare Biden the winner of the 2020 race.
The delayed counting in mail-in ballots was created earlier this year when Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers refused to allow local elections officials to prepare in advance to count those votes - resulting in a lengthy and harried count in the days after Election Day.
Along with winning Pennsylvania, Biden was also continuing to lead in three of the other key undecided states, up Saturday morning by over 7,000 votes in Georgia, by 22,000 votes in Nevada, and 22,000 votes in Arizona.
Victories in all four of those states would give Biden 306 Electoral Votes - exactly the number earned by President Trump in 2016.
As the vote count continued on Friday night and into Saturday, Pennsylvania Democrats bluntly said there was no chance President Trump could win the state, with thousands of ballots still to be counted in the Philadelphia area, a bastion of Democratic voters.
“There just isn’t a path mathematically,” Lt. Governor John Fetterman said of the President’s chances in the Keystone State.
JOE BIDEN DEFEATS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 7, 2020
The Associated Press declares Joe Biden the winner of a grueling campaign for the American presidency. He will lead a polarized nation through a historic collision of health, economic and social crises. #APracecall pic.twitter.com/lInwqjX3PB
Those Pittsburgh numbers came in, everyone!!!
— Adam Kelsey (@adamkelsey) November 7, 2020
Biden: 5,184
Trump: 1,893
Biden nets 3,291 and now leads with 34,199, outside of the expected recount threshold
The news arrived as the President was playing golf at his club in Virginia.
“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 Trump Campaign said in a written statement.
“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” his campaign added.
Currently, President Trump’s only lead in a state where counting continues is in North Carolina, which he also won four years ago.
Biden’s overall popular vote stood at over 4 million on Saturday over President Trump.
Biden had hoped to officially claim victory in a speech on Friday night in Wilmington, Delaware, but the slow speed of the count delayed that decision.
In a seven minute statement, Biden again urged patience from his supporters.
“We have to remain calm, patient,” Biden said. “Let the process work out as we count all the votes.”
.@JoeBiden: "We have to remain calm, patient, and let the process work out as we count all the votes...Democracy works. Your vote will be counted. I don't care how hard people try to stop it. I will not let it happen." https://t.co/e2ndYfQLDF pic.twitter.com/n0eVJL5l8G
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 7, 2020
Republicans meanwhile continued to make claims of ‘massive fraud’ and extensive ‘irregularities,’ but as of Saturday had offered nothing concrete in terms of vote fraud proof, whether in public, or in a lawsuit.
Democrats said it was emblematic of a President who made wild charges of fraud when he lost the popular vote in 2016, but never came close to proving any kind of illegal voting.
“Everything Donald Trump has said about the counting of votes is a lie,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA). “He has no evidence of cheating because it didn’t happen.”
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