Two days after Election Day, the presidential race is still too close to call, with leads being extremely tight in the key battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, which will decide the election. Let’s take a look at where the race currently stands.
Let’s take a look at the current Associated Press (AP) presidential race calls. As of writing, Biden has 264 electoral votes compared to Trump’s 214.
Note: all times used are Eastern Standard Time.
The key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin have been called for Biden, which are all flips from 2016. Michigan and Wisconsin was called in the afternoon on Nov. 4, leaving Biden just six votes short of the needed 270.
The race in Alaska, with just 56 percent of precincts reporting, is still too early to call, though Trump leads considerably, with 62 percent of the vote going to him.
Mail ballots are being tallied up in Pennsylvania and Georgia. The remaining ballots are expected to break strongly for the Democrats, and based on data released during the night, Biden is winning a large enough percentage of these ballots in order to carry the state. Biden is a favorite to win Pennsylvania and a slight favorite to win Georgia.
Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania has dwindled significantly throughout the night, with his lead now down to just three percent, or 200,000 votes. However, there are still more than 700,000 ballots to be counted, and Democratic counties like Philadelphia County, Delaware County, Allegheny County, and Centre County are still behind on ballot counting—in Philadelphia County, a major Democratic stronghold, only 70 percent of the estimated vote has been reported, and over 140,000 ballots are yet to be counted in just that county alone. The state is expected to fully finish counting by Friday, but we may get a race call sooner.
In Georgia, what was once a sizable lead for Trump has now dwindled down to just 0.4 percent, which is in recount territory. Trump only leads by about 18,000 votes, and with votes still being reported in the Democratic leaning Atlanta suburbs, Macon, and Savannah, the race is way too close to call. There are still a large number of ballots to be counted, and we may see a call soon.
Nevada, though Biden leads by a very slim margin of 8,000 votes, is only reporting 86 percent of the vote, and Clark County, where three-fourths of the state’s voting population resides and is heavily Democratic, is expected to release lots more data by noon today. Biden is expected to win this state.
North Carolina has still not been called even with 95 percent of precincts reporting. Trump currently leads by 1.4 percent, but votes have not been fully reported in the Democratic leaning Research Triangle area. In addition, mail ballots that were postmarked on or before Nov. 3 are being accepted until late next week, so this race may remain uncalled for a while.
With Biden just one state away from victory, he is highly likely to become to next President of the United States.
Let’s now move on to the Senate, where control is much more uncertain.
Maine’s Senate race has been called from yesterday, with Susan Collins (R-Inc.) keeping her seat. Gary Peters (D-Inc.) has also won reelection in Michigan, according to the AP. Arizona, a Democratic flip, has also been called.
Like above, Alaska’s Senate race is too early to call, even though Dan Sullivan (R-Inc.) currently leads with 62 percent of the vote.
Georgia’s Senate special election will proceed into a runoff to be held in January, with the candidates being Kelly Loeffler (R-Inc.) and Raphael Warnock (D). Georgia’s Senate regular election is much less clear, and could also proceed into a runoff if no candidate secures 50 percent of the vote. David Perdue (R-Inc.) currently sits at exactly 50 percent, and more ballots coming in would probably reduce this percentage. If so, Senate control is likely to be decided via these special elections early next year.
North Carolina continues to be too close to call, like with the presidency. Thom Tillis (R-Inc.) currently leads by 1.7 percent, so late-arriving ballots could still break the race in Cal Cunningham (D)’s favor.
Whatever is the case, Biden looks likely to win the presidency, while Senate control is still inconclusive. As more votes come in, we may be able to see the presidential race being called later today.
Make sure to check out the 2020 election coverage page for more on the election.