US Election 2020: Biden overtakes Trump in Pennsylvania as Georgia heads for recount

Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Friday pulled ahead of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, a key state in the US presidential race, results data show.

Mr Biden is leading by more than 14,000 votes, with 98% counted. If he takes the state, he will win the election.
Earlier, Mr Biden edged ahead of his Republican rival in Georgia, another key battleground state, where a recount will now be held.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign said: “This election is not over.”

Trump campaign lawyer Matt Morgan claimed without evidence that ballots in Georgia were “improperly harvested” and that in Pennsylvania election observers were not given “meaningful access” to counting.

In a statement later, Mr Trump said: “From the beginning we have said that all legal ballots must be counted and all illegal ballots should not be counted, yet we have met resistance to this basic principle by Democrats at every turn.

“We will pursue this process through every aspect of the law to guarantee that the American people have confidence in our government. I will never give up fighting for you and our nation.”

A senior Trump administration official has told CBS News Mr Trump does not plan to concede in the event of a victory declaration by Mr Biden.

There are reports from the Biden campaign in Delaware that he will address the nation on Friday evening local time. This is believed to be dependent on the race being called by then.

What’s the current state of the race?

Mr Biden has 253 Electoral College votes, while Mr Trump has 214. To win the White House, a candidate needs 270.

Some news organisations have a higher tally for Mr Biden, having projected a win for the Democrat in Arizona. But the BBC considers the state too early to call.

Pennsylvania, where Mr Biden was born, has 20 Electoral College votes. If the Democrat wins it, he will secure the victory with 273 votes.

Election officials there said the count could take several days.

Pennsylvania has always been a major political battleground. The state voted Democrat in six consecutive races before it swung to Mr Trump in 2016.

In Georgia, Mr Biden is currently leading with more than 1,500 votes, with 99% of the ballots counted. Georgia’s secretary of state said there would be a recount because the margin was so small.

Georgia is a traditionally Republican state and has not been won by a Democrat in a presidential race since 1992.

Mr Trump’s team says legal challenges and recounts in some states will favour them.

Bob Bauer, a Biden campaign lawyer, says the lawsuits are legally “meritless”.

The vote is also currently too close to call in Nevada and North Carolina.

A win in just Pennsylvania, or two of the other four remaining states would be enough to confirm Mr Biden as president-elect.

Mr Trump would need to win Pennsylvania and three of the remaining four states.(BBC)