Former Vice President Joe Biden is expressing confidence that he will win the 2020 presidential election as votes continue to be counted in key battleground states.
Biden spoke from Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday afternoon alongside Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as he moved closer to potentially reaching 270 electoral votes. The Democratic presidential nominee said his campaign believes he will emerge victorious when states finish counting their votes, though he did not declare victory.
"After a long night of counting, it's clear that we're winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency," Biden said. "I'm not here to declare that we've won, but I am here to report, when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Key battleground states like Pennsylvania have not yet been called, but Biden is currently leading with 253 electoral votes, while Trump has 214, per The New York Times. On Wednesday afternoon, Biden was projected to win the two crucial battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, both of which Trump won in 2016, making the president's path to a win more difficult, though not impossible. Biden is ahead at the moment in enough states to take him past 270 electoral votes should his leads hold, FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver notes.
The Trump campaign is filing a lawsuit to "halt" the counting of votes in Michigan, while in Pennsylvania, the campaign has also said it's suing to "temporarily halt counting." Trump is ahead in Pennsylvania at this time and his campaign has prematurely declared victory in the state before any news network has called the race, but Biden said Wednesday that he feels "very good" about winning Pennsylvania.
Biden added in his remarks that once the 2020 election has ended, it will be time to "put the harsh rhetoric of the campaign behind us," to "lower the temperature," and to "come together as a nation." Brendan Morrow
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
-
Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
