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Major television networks pointed to Democrat Joe Biden as capturing enough votes to rebuff his opponent, Republican incumbent Donald Trump, in what has been described as a time of deep divisions in the Land of the Free.
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Biden had a 273 to 214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, having won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to put him over the 270 he needed to secure the presidency, according to Edison Research.
'I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris,' Biden said after major news networks called the race
Earlier reports said it was clear if Trump could not get Pennsylvania, the election would have been over for the incumbent.
"I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris," Biden said after major news networks called the race.
"We did it Joe," Harris told Biden on the phone when she got the news during her late morning run.
Biden’s projected victory came after four days of nail-biting suspense over the outcome of Tuesday’s election, with the counting of votes in a handful of battleground states ongoing amid delayed processing of mail-in ballots.
Trump has accused Biden of “rushing to falsely pose as the winner.”
“This election is far from over,” the US President said in a statement.
Biden said on Friday he expected to win the race but stopped short of giving a victory speech. A Trump adviser acknowledged on Friday that the race had tilted against Trump, but said the president was not ready to admit defeat.
US Secret Service agents were already protecting Biden, now President-elect according to unofficial results.
Kamala Harris makes history
Senator Kamala Harris will make history as the first woman vice president, and first Black and first Asian American vice president
When the former vice president enters the White House on January 20, the oldest person to assume the office at age 78, he likely will face a difficult task governing in a deeply polarized Washington, underscored by a record nationwide voter turnout in a fight to the finish.
