Biden overtakes Trump in Pennsylvania, putting him on the verge of victory
November 6, 2020
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has moved ahead of President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, a potentially decisive moment in the 2020 White House race.
An infusion of newly counted ballots from the Philadelphia area propelled the former vice president to a lead of roughly 5,500 votes over the Republican incumbent — 49.5-49.4 percent support — with 98 percent of the state’s expected vote tallied.
By noon, Biden had grown his advantage to roughly 9,700 votes.
Prior to the addition of the newly counted votes, Trump maintained a lead over Biden of a little more than 18,000 ballots — 49.6-49.3 percent support — with 97 percent of the vote reported.
Trump won Pennsylvania by 1.2 percentage points in 2016, and the state has been widely viewed in recent months as the potential tipping point in the 2020 race.
Biden now leads Trump in three critical remaining battlegrounds: Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Wins in any one of them would push Biden to victory.
Trump, however, would have to claim North Carolina — where he has led consistently but which has yet to be called — and also carry Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania to win reelection.
Biden’s forward movement in Pennsylvania comes after his wins Wednesday in Michigan and Wisconsin. Together, the three states make up the trio of Great Lakes-area battlegrounds Trump flipped in 2016 to secure his Electoral College victory over then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
If Biden goes on to win Pennsylvania outright, he will have fulfilled his pledge to Democratic voters to rebuild the party’s storied “blue wall” that Trump tore down four years ago, while expanding Clinton’s map with a win in the traditionally Republican stronghold of Arizona.
Trump has yet to improve upon his 2016 map.
Source: https://www.politico.com/
