Election Day ended with a cloud of uncertainty as Trump pulled ahead in southern swing states. The election now hinges on Great Lakes-adjacent states, including Pennsylvania, which are expected to continue processing mail-in ballots for the next few days.
Trump sped ahead in Florida early on Nov. 3 as the state reported voting results at breakneck speed. North Carolina followed suit; as the majority of results poured in, Biden’s comfortable lead vanished and left the Democratic candidate lagging behind. Trump is projected to win in Ohio, Iowa and Texas, states that he led by a small margin in FiveThirtyEight’s polling averages.
Nevertheless, Biden secured some key wins across the country, as the New York Times projected the former Vice President to win Minnesota and reported a wide lead in Arizona. Biden’s losses in the south, however, mean that the election is still up for grabs for both candidates.
In the south, results have defied polling averages, which showed Biden leading slightly in Florida and North Carolina. Biden’s projected leads are more comfortable in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, which have yet to be called.
In Arizona, Biden leads Trump by approximately six percentage points with 80% reporting. Neither CNN nor the New York Times have projected a winner in Arizona, but Fox News called the state for Biden.
North Carolina has not yet been called by the New York Times either, which relies on Associated Press data to project winners for each state. However, 95% of expected votes have been counted, and Trump leads Biden 50.1% to 48.7%, which likely indicates a Trump victory.
Georgia remained a nail-biting race for most of the night. Trump began the evening with a significant lead, but as larger counties like Fulton — which contains the city of Atlanta — began tabulating mail-in votes, the state returned to a near-tossup leaning slightly toward Biden.
As of early Nov. 4, a winner has still not been projected in the state.
Just before 11 p.m., Biden gave a short speech to supporters in Delaware as Florida was definitively called for Trump by the New York Times.
“We believe we’re on track to win this election,” Biden said, speaking to a crowd of supporters at a drive-in rally. “It ain’t over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted.”
Conversely, at 3:30 a.m. ET, Trump said, “As far as I am concerned, we already have won.”
This claim is objectively false: Votes are still being counted in at least seven states, and only state election officials can officially declare a winner. The results reported by media outlets are projections and are not definitive.
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The fate of the presidential election still hangs in balance as ballots continue to be counted in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, all of which could affect the outcome significantly.
Due to the policies of those three states, which affect when officials can count mail-in ballots, the projected winner of the election may not be known for several days.
It should be noted that in states won by a razor-thin margin, the results will likely be contested in court. Trump has promised to pursue litigation in close states like Pennsylvania, which may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
This is a developing story. Check dailylobo.com for updates.
Liam DeBonis is the photo editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at photoeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @LiamDeBonis
