Biden declared winner in presidential election
‘The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not.’ – President-Elect Joe Biden
Photo from Joe Biden campaign: Former Vice President Joe Biden has been declared the winner in the 2020 presidential election after winning Pennsylvania’s 20 eelctoral votes. That pushed him from 253 to 273, past the 270 needed to be president.
Americans had to wait four days after the election, but a winner has been announced today: Former Vice President Joe Biden.
The Associated Press and other major news organizations declared Biden the winner after more votes came in from Pennsylvania this morning, securing the state’s 20 electoral votes, pushing him past the 270 needed to win the election.
Biden now has 273 and could pick up more. He has small leads in Georgia (16 electoral votes), Arizona (11 electoral votes), and Nevada (6 electoral votes).
“America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country,” Biden said in a statement. “The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”
Biden was trailing in Pennsylvania after the in-person votes were counted on Tuesday. But absentee ballots and mail-in votes allowed him to overtake President Donald Trump. The AP and other news organizations projected Trump wouldn’t overtake Biden’s 34,414 advantage with 2 percent of the vote still to be counted in Pennsylvania.
Trump has vowed to challenge the results in court. He has claimed election fraud and illegal voting.
Andrew Cuomo, New York governor, issued a statement congratulating Biden on the victory.
“This is a historic day,” Cuomo said. “After the darkness, division and hate of the past four years, America has spoken and rejected more of the same. Congratulations to my good friend President-Elect Joe Biden and to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. Today we go forward in hope and progress.”
Biden had strong support in New York State, getting about 60 percent of the vote to win New York’s 29 electoral votes. However, Trump dominated in rural areas of the state, including Orleans County, where he received 71.4 percent of the vote. Joe Biden received 26.1 percent of the votes for president in Orleans County.
