Just before noon eastern time on Nov. 7, several news outlets called the 2020 presidential race in favor of democratic party candidate, Joseph R. Biden Jr., claiming victory over incumbent President and republican party candidate Donald J. Trump.
As of Nov. 8, The New York Times reported Biden and Trump having 279 and 214 electoral college votes, respectively, putting Biden nine votes over the 270 required to win, with 45 votes yet to be called for either candidate. Biden is also expected to retain the popular vote, which he holds by a margin of approximately four million. President Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 to Hillary Clinton by less than 3 million votes, but attained 306 electoral college votes.
The race was called after the Biden campaign was able to successfully flip Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes in favor of the democratic candidate, a state that went to President Trump in the 2016 election. Biden also flipped swing states Wisconsin and Michigan, winning an additional 26 votes between the two. While media sources may differ in their calling of the remaining states, current leads, according to The New York Times, show Biden ahead in Arizona and Georgia, two states that favored President Trump in the 2016 election. Meanwhile, Trump holds the lead in Alaska and North Carolina. However, the Associated Press has already called Arizona’s race in favor of Biden, which would put him at 290 votes.
Biden served as Vice President under President Barack Obama from 2009-2017 after serving as a senator for the state of Delaware since 1973. Biden’s win over President Trump adds to the list of U.S. Presidents who did not get reelected for a second term, the most recent being George H.W. Bush, who lost his reelection to Bill Clinton in 1992, according to USA today.
Aside from claiming the presidency from an incumbent candidate, the Biden campaign also achieved several other feats with their victory. Kamala Harris, Senator of California and Vice President-elect, ran against Biden in the primaries, but was later chosen as his running mate. Biden’s and Harris’ win makes her the first woman, woman of color, Black person and person of Asian descent to be elected as the Vice President of the U.S., according to The New York Times. Additionally, Jill Biden, Biden’s wife, has stated that she intends to have a full-time job while filling the role of First Lady, which would be a first for the role’s 231-year history, according to USA Today. The First Lady-elect has a Doctoral degree in education and two master’s degrees and has been an educator for over 30 years.
For a statistical recap of the 2020 Presidential Election as of Nov. 7, visit The Current online.
