LIVE RESULTS: Biden takes a big step toward 270 electoral votes with Michigan win as the election comes down to 6 critical states
4 years ago
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Democratic nominee Joe Biden just took a big step toward winning 270 electoral votes and defeating President Trump with Decision Desk HQ projecting he’ll win both Michigan and Wisconsin.
On Wednesday the battleground states of Arizona and Georgia were still expected to report substantially more mail votes — giving Biden plenty of room to grow and gain on Trump in those states.
The Trump campaign announced in a statement that it would immediately demand a recount in Wisconsin, where preliminary results showed Biden was leading by about 20,000 votes.
In Michigan, the campaign filed a lawsuit to pause the vote count “until meaningful access has been granted” to observe the ballot-counting process. It is taking similar steps to halt ballot counting in Pennsylvania, where Trump falsely declared victory on Wednesday.
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Joe Biden made major strides Wednesday afternoon toward earning the 270 Electoral College votes required to win the White House and defeat President Donald Trump with big wins in the Upper Midwest.
Decision Desk HQ projected that Trump would win the battleground states of Florida, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas, and Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, while Biden, the Democratic nominee, was projected to win Minnesota, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Because Biden supporters were far more likely than Trump supporters to vote by mail, the outstanding mail ballots in places like Georgia and Pennsylvania were likely to favor the former vice president — and could help him take the lead in those states as more votes were counted.
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On Wednesday afternoon the Trump campaign released a statement decrying “irregularities” in the “razor thin race” in Wisconsin, saying “the President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so.”
In Michigan the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit to pause the vote count “until meaningful access has been granted” to observe the ballot-counting process, and vowed to fight the case in state court. The president’s reelection team was also attempting to halt ballot counting in Pennsylvania and falsely declared victory in the Keystone State on Wednesday.
Arizona, 11 electoral votes: While Biden leads the current vote count in Arizona, Decision Desk HQ has not projected a winner yet.
Georgia, 16 electoral votes: Although Georgia allowed officials to preprocess ballots before Election Day, roadblocks including a water pipe bursting in one ballot processing facility in Fulton County and scanning issues in others delayed vote counting. Still, Biden has lots of room to gain votes in many suburban Atlanta counties that could ultimately deliver him a victory.
Nevada, six electoral votes: Nevada, where Biden and Trump are currently neck and neck, have only reported their vote totals for mail ballots received by November 2 and votes cast in person by November 3. They won’t report the next batch of results from mail ballots that arrived on Election Day or after until Thursday.
Pennsylvania, 20 electoral votes: Pennsylvania’s counties are also processing mail ballots at different speeds, meaning we don’t have a definitive timeline for when most of the vote will be reported. Still, the outstanding mail ballots are likely to significantly favor Biden.
CNN reported on Wednesday that the Trump campaign was attempting to end ballot counting in Pennsylvania. “We are declaring a victory in Pennsylvania. This is not based on gut or feel. This is based on math,” Bill Stepien, the president’s campaign manager, said on a press call, even though votes continue to be counted, according to Time.
In addition to the presidential race, hundreds of critical US Senate and House races on the ballot this fall will determine the balance of power in Washington, DC, for years to come.
See Insider’s full coverage of the race for the US Senate, the US House, 2020’s gubernatorial elections, and some of the most critical ballot initiatives around the country.
Here’s what you need to know about the top 10 swing states most likely to decide the election, including what the polls said and how the top election experts and handicappers at the Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University, and Inside Elections rated Trump’s and Biden’s chances of winning each state.
There are six states on the map — Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin — that flipped from voting for President Barack Obama in 2012 to vote for Trump in 2016.
Arizona accounts for 11 votes in the Electoral College. It was rated as “tilts Democratic” by Inside Elections and “leans Democratic” by the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Florida, which Decision Desk HQ projects for Trump, accounts for 29 votes in the Electoral College. It was rated as a “leans Republicans” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a “toss-up” in the Electoral College by the Cook Political Report, and rated as “tilts Democratic” by Inside Elections.
Georgia accounts for 16 votes in the Electoral College. It was rated as a “toss-up” in the Electoral College by the Cook Political Report, and “tilts Democratic” by Inside Elections, and “leans Democratic” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Iowa, which Decision Desk HQ projects for Trump, accounts for six votes in the Electoral College. It was rated as a “toss-up” in the Electoral College by the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections, and “leans Republican” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Michigan accounts for 16 votes in the Electoral College. It was rated as “leans Democratic” in the Electoral College by the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
North Carolina accounts for 15 votes in the Electoral College. It was rated as a “tilts Democratic” in the Electoral College by Inside Elections and as a “tossup” by the Cook Political Report, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Ohio, which Decision Desk HQ projects for Trump, accounts for 18 Electoral College votes. It was rated as a “toss-up” in the Electoral College by the Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections.
Pennsylvania accounts for 20 Electoral College votes. It was rated as “leans Democratic” in the Electoral College by Inside Elections, the Cook Political Report, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Texas, which Decision Desk HQ projects for Trump, accounts for 38 Electoral College votes. It was rated as a “tossup” by the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections, and “leans Republican” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Wisconsin accounts for 10 Electoral College votes. It was rated as “leans Democratic” in the Electoral College by Inside Elections, the Cook Political Report, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Nebraska’s and Maine’s 2nd Congressional Districts also account for one Electoral College vote each.
Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, which Decision Desk HQ projects for Biden, was rated as “leans Democratic” in the Electoral College by Inside Elections, the Cook Political Report, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Trump carried the 2nd District by a margin of 2.2 percentage points in the 2016 election, according to the Daily Kos.
Maine’s 2nd Congressional District is rated as a “tossup” in the Electoral College by Inside Elections and the Cook Political Report and “leans Republican” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Trump carried Maine’s 2nd District by a margin of 10 percentage points in the 2016 election, according to the Daily Kos.
