Earlier today, Joe Biden flipped the critical Northern state of Wisconsin as several other key battlegrounds remained too close to call. Even before a winner was declared in Wisconsin, the Trump campaign said it would request a recount. Senator Susan Collins of Maine was re-elected, dimming Democratic hopes of winning control of the Senate.
Trump’s Path To Re-election Narrows With Key Victory in Wisconsin
Update, as of 3:30pm. AP declares Michigan for Biden, who is 7 seats away from victory
The lingering uncertainty of the 2020 campaign is perhaps unsurprising in an election with record-breaking turnout where most ballots were cast before Election Day, but many could not be counted until afterward.
Mr. Trump’s chances of winning a second term depended on his ability to carry more of the undecided states, including several battleground Great Lakes states that he won in 2016 where Mr. Biden is now holding leads.
Donna Akers, left, of Grand Prairie, Lucy Cantu of Grand Prairie, center, and her sister Guadalupe Neidigh of Georgetown, Texas, participate in protest organized by Dallas Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression outside Dallas City Hall. The results of the presidential election are not yet complete and they wanted to voice their concerns that every vote be counted. Photograph: Tom Fox/AP
With millions of votes yet to be counted across several key states — there is a reason that news organizations and other usually impatient actors were waiting to declare victors — Mr. Biden has held narrow leads in Arizona, Nevada and Michigan. If Mr. Biden can hold all those states, the former vice president could win the election even without Pennsylvania, which has long been viewed as a must-have battleground state.
“We feel good about where we are,” Mr. Biden told rattled supporters early Wednesday morning. “I’m here to tell you tonight we believe we’re on track to win this election. I’m optimistic about this outcome.”
Michigan now tied and there's every reason to think the remaining votes will be pretty blue. https://t.co/yYGNcrd0AZ
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 4, 2020
As of 3pm, with the vote in the city of Detroit still to be counted, where the urban vote — and, most particularly, the black vote — of Michigan’s largest city is expected to be blue, before the end of the day, Michigan will be placed in Joe Biden’s column, moving him even closer to the 270 College of Electors vote count he’ll need to become the 46th U.S. President.
Update | 7:48pm | Biden Inching Ever Closer to Victory
Paths to victory remain in the U.S. presidential race for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, but Biden has more ways to win and appears to be running stronger state to state, based on the places — cities, mainly — where large absentee votes have yet to be counted.
Biden leads the electoral college vote tally 264 - 214 after he was declared the winner in Michigan and Wisconsin midday Wednesday, and Trump gained one vote in Maine. Adding Alaska for Trump — which had not been called but where the result is not in doubt — gives the president 217.
From there, four states remained to be called as Wednesday evening approached in the U.S.: Nevada — where the final vote tally will be released on Thursday; North Carolina, Georgia — expected to complete a final vote count late on Wednesday night; and Pennsylvania, where the vote tally of mail-in ballots coming in from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh has Joe Biden inching ever closer to declaring victory in the state.
Update | 3:20pm | Biden Flips Michigan
It’s official: the AP has declared Joe Biden to be the winner of Michigan and its 16 electoral votes, flipping another “blue wall” state away from Donald Trump. Biden remains achingly close to a win in Georgia, while Nevada remains up for grabs. Stay tuned for further updates.
Not only will Joe Biden be declared the 46th U.S. President this upcoming Friday — if not sooner — California senator Kamala Harris will become the first woman vice-president of the United States, an historic achievement for a nation riven with division, offering hope not just for Americans, but for all of us, and most particularly our daughters and granddaughters, who will know that the highest and hardest glass ceiling has finally been shattered.
Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden Jr. started election night with many paths to 270 electoral votes, but by Wednesday morning Mr. Trump had won Florida, Ohio and Texas and was within striking distance of winning North Carolina. While the number of winning scenarios for Biden diminished on Tuesday, it was the former vice president, and not the president, who was on offence early Wednesday in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the once-reliable “blue wall” states, thanks to his big pre-election effort to encourage mail-in balloting and early voting. At noon today, Mr. Biden won Wisconsin and was tied in Michigan, with the largely Democratic vote in Detroit yet to be counted, giving him the edge to achieve the 270 College of Electors votes he’ll need to become the 46th U.S. President.
Update | 3:30pm | College of Electors map has changed: Biden = 264 votes, Trump = 214
What follows are the top scenarios remaining for Joe Biden to win the 2020 election. Political strategists predict that Biden will win Nevada, a blue state where he remains narrowly ahead. At this writing, the remaining mail-in ballot vote in Pennsylvania is trending heavily & overwhelmingly for Biden.
Georgia mail-in ballot count continues Wed., Nov. 4. Final results expected by midnight.
One path involves Mr. Biden winning both Arizona and Georgia, Sun Belt states where he appears competitive with tens of thousands of votes left to be counted. Mr. Biden has the edge in Arizona, and a win there would take some pressure off him to rely entirely on the blue-wall states. He can afford to lose Pennsylvania (unlikely) if he wins Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin — he’s already won the latter, and appears on track to win the two others. If Mr. Biden prevails in Georgia and Arizona, he can reach 270 electoral votes — while losing Pennsylvania and either Michigan or Wisconsin, where as we write above, he’s already won, or is guaranteed to emerge as victor.
“Joe Biden’s path is largely unchanged since he entered this race,” Guy Cecil, the chairman of Priorities USA, a leading Democratic super PAC, said ony Wednesday. “There are still at least five competitive states giving him multiple paths to 270. It may take a couple of days to count the votes, and we may need to fight the Trump campaign in court, but Joe Biden remains the favourite.”
Meanwhile, in battleground Georgia, 100,000 votes remain to be counted.
Tomorrow’s VanRamblings’ coverage of #USElection2020 will focus on the Senate, and what a probable Republican Mitch McConnell majority will mean for the incoming Democratic President and Vice-President.
For today, though, we’ll leave you with this bit of heartening news …
The 2018 U.S. election marked the beginning of a progressive movement that has shaken up the U.S. Congress. The outcome resulted in more than 100 women serving in the House of Representatives, an historic number. Throughout this last congressional term, four of the newly-elected women have attracted a great deal of attention: known as The Squad, representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) became the nucleus of a burgeoning progressive electoral movement across the United States.
Readers will be heartened to know that all four progressive Congresswomen were handily re-elected to Congress, and have added to their numbers …
Thank you @BET! Cori Bush Wins House Seat, Becomes First Black Woman To Rep Missouri In Congress https://t.co/16XTg4ikD0
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) November 4, 2020
Cori Bush. Set to become the first Black woman to represent Missouri’s first district in Congress, Bush — a nurse and Black Lives Matter activist who organized protests after the killing of Mike Brown — disrupted a 50-year family hold on the seat this year after losing her bid for seat in the 2018 Democratic primary.
Marie Newman. In Illinois, the AP and The New York Times projected that Marie Newman will win the third district. Newman beat a conservative, anti-abortion Democrat in her primary earlier this year and defeated Republican Mike Fricilone in the general.
I am beyond honored to be elected as the next representative for #IL03.
We couldn’t have done this without our amazing district-wide coalition. We will continue to build bridges and fight for a just country and economy for working families.
It’s a #NewDayinIL03.
— Marie Newman (@Marie4Congress) November 4, 2020
Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a former Bronx middle school principal, defeated a 16-term incumbent to win the Democratic primary. The progressive Congressman had a lot of support from young people, with the youth-led Sunrise Movement making 65% of the 1.3 million calls made for Bowman’s campaign. Bowman’s primary victory in July set the stage for Tuesday, which saw the AP and The New York Times project he’d win his race.
Wow. I’m so humbled to be the next Representative of #NY16. Thank you so much.
I’m ready to get to work to disrupt the status quo and deliver for our families.
Hold me accountable. Push me and my colleagues. I’m going to need you in Congress with me. There’s so much work to do. pic.twitter.com/xBEWcwxKSb
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) November 4, 2020
Let us not forget, either, the adjunct members of the U.S. Congress: Deb Haaland (D-NM) became one of the first two Native American women to serve in Congress when she won in 2018; Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS) joined Haaland in becoming one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Davids, a member of the Wisconsin-based Ho-Chunk Nation, is also the first openly gay congressperson from her state.
Representative Katie Porter (D-CA) may be best known for her viral exchanges during congressional hearings featuring her whiteboard. More than just shareable videos, her determination convinced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March to agree to pay for coronavirus testing. Porter dominated California’s “jungle primary” for her seat this year, and the AP and The New York Times projected that she’ll keep her seat; Veronica Escobar (D-TX) who, alongside Sylvia Garcia was one of the first Latinas to represent Texas in the House. She’ll be back in the next Congress, the AP projected Tuesday night, and The New York Times projected early Wednesday morning.
VanRamblings will continue to update today’s post thru midnight tonight.
