Democratic Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States while Kamala Harris will be the first woman in American history to make it to the office of vice presidency.
After four days of excruciating delays in vote counts, Americans got the news of Biden’s victory and President Donald Trump’s defeat when the Democratic candidate secured the critical state of Pennsylvania with its 20 electoral votes.
Biden had been waiting patiently for the results with 253 votes for days after the November 3 election, held under the shadow of coronavirus pandemic.
Electoral Vote after Nov 3, 2020, US Presidential Election/Wikipedia
The candidate securing 270 out of 538 electoral votes becomes the president. Trump’s standing stalemated at 214 electoral votes.
Meanwhile, Democrats welcomed the news with celebrations that included dancing on the streets and motorists honking their way around.
The Associated Press called Biden victorious at 11.25 a.m. ( 9:25 pm PST) Saturday.
Trump aides say the president is not expected to concede defeat and will likely file more lawsuits.
In a tweet, he claimed that he had won the election by a lot.
71,000,000 Legal Votes. The most EVER for a sitting President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2020
He was playing golf in Florida on Saturday when Biden’s hitting the 270-electoral count made headlines around the world.
But it was Biden, who toppled Trump’s gains in the 2016 election with victories in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The former vice president was also leading in former Republican stronghold Arizona. Republican politicians believe that Trump’s attacks against American hero and late Senator John McCain had cost him dearly. Biden even was on the cusp of winning Georgia, another red state, to the amazement of many political pundits.
Biden’s criticism of Trump’s failure to deal with the coronavirus pandemic seems to have worked for him as a weary nation looks for an effective response to the major health-cum-economic crisis, which has infected eight million Americans and claimed more than 230,000 lives. In recent days, the reported cases have surged to around 100,000 per day.
Supporters of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris flooded Washington, D.C.'s Black Lives Matter Plaza to celebrate their victory in the 2020 election. https://t.co/8kbO3zJR9u
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) November 7, 2020
In major cities across the United States, the Democratic supporters danced joyfully and cheered Biden’s victory.
Social media users also celebrated Kamala Harris’s election as a major stride toward women’s empowerment and elevation to the second-highest office in the country.
Republicans scored victories in the House of Representatives where Democrats are expected to continue their majority, while the Senate landscape presents an equal measure of blue and red with Democrats and Republicans winning 48 seats each by Saturday evening.
