Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Wednesday that after “a long night of counting, it is clear that we are winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.”
“I am not here to declare that we have won,” Biden said, differentiating himself from President Donald Trump, who falsely claimed on Wednesday that he had secured re-election. “But I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners.”
The Associated Press currently predicts Biden winning 264 electoral votes and Trump 214, and the former Vice President currently leads in Nevada, Georgia and has narrowed the margins in Pennsylvania.
While both campaigns still have pathways to reach 270, Trump’s options have narrowed. As a result, his team has launched a series of lawsuits baselessly attacking the validity of mail-in ballots, which were expected to favor Biden, as more Democrats had requested mail-in ballots in states that report absentee voting by party registration.
“Now, every vote must be counted,” Biden said of Trump’s requests to “stop the count.” He continued, “No one is going to take our democracy away from us, not now, not ever.”
In his remarks, Biden also highlighted the need for unity and expressed hope for a type of reconciliation following the election.
“Once this election is finalized and behind us, it will be time to do what we have always done as Americans, to put the harsh rhetoric of the campaign behind us … to unite, to heal, to come together as a nation,” he said. “I know this won’t be easy. I’m not naïve, neither of us are. I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our county on so many things, but I also know this as well, to make progress, we have to stop treating out opponents as enemies.”
