The Associated Press declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner of his native Pennsylvania at 11:25 a.m. EST. The AP called the race for Biden, who held a 34,243-vote lead after it determined that the remaining ballots left to be counted would not allow Trump to catch up.
See full election results here.
Biden held a .51 percentage point margin over Trump late Saturday morning. Under Pennsylvania law, a recount is automatic when the margin between two candidates in a statewide race is less than 0.5 percentage points.
Biden's lead over Trump was on track to stay outside of that margin. The AP called the race for Biden after it determined that the remaining ballots left to be counted would not allow Trump to catch up.
Additionally, Kamala Harris is making history as the first Black woman elected vice president of the United States, shattering barriers that have kept men - almost all of them white - entrenched at the highest levels of American politics for more than two centuries. The 56-year-old California senator is also the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency.
She represents the multiculturalism that defines America but is largely absent from Washington's power centers. Her Black identity has allowed her to speak in personal terms in a year of reckoning over police brutality and systemic racism.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer congratulated Biden and Harris, saying in a statement,
“I want to congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on their hard-fought win in this election. I look forward to working with both of them as we continue to fight the spread of COVID-19, work to rebuild our economy, and save lives. Now, with the election behind us, it is time for the American people to unite against our common enemy: COVID-19. This virus has ravaged our country, infecting over 200,000 Michiganders and killing over 7,500. Our hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, and we are recording a record number of cases each day in Michigan and across the country. It is all of our responsibility to do everything in our power to protect our families, frontline workers, and small businesses. To the people of Michigan: I urge you to wear a mask, maintain safe physical distancing, wash your hands frequently, and get your flu vaccine. To our newly elected leaders, from the White House down to the Michigan State Legislature, let’s roll up our sleeves, work together, and beat this virus once and for all.”
Recently reelected U.S. Sen. Gary Peters also congratulated the pair, saying in a statement,
"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made history today and I’m proud to join them as we work to unite our country and build a more prosperous future for all Americans. Together, we can defeat coronavirus, ensure health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions, put working families before special interests, and boost Michigan manufacturing. It is clear we need to heal our country from the politics of division and hyperpartisanship and that will be our mandate as we look ahead and start to build back better.”
President Donald Trump released a statement Saturday morning, shortly after the race was called. In it, he doubled down on his commitment to pursue legal action over false claims of voter fraud, for which his campaign has provided no evidence. We are providing only a portion of it here:
“We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over.
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