2002 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) will be heading to the White House.
Biden, a former vice president, defeated President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
It was a close race, as Americans cast their ballots on Tuesday and eagerly waited for the results. However, Biden prevailed garnering the necessary 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. He won with 279 electoral votes, compared to Trump’s 214 electoral votes.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris,” Biden said in a statement. “In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America.”
The president-elect continued:
“With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. It’s time for America to unite. And to heal. We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.”
His victory marks the 11th time ever in U.S. history for the other major party’s nominee to defeat an incumbent president. This election sets records for the most votes in a presidential election and he will become the oldest president elected in U.S. history when he is inaugurated.
Harris also made history when she became the first Black woman to accept a major political party’s vice presidential nomination. She is also of South Asian descent.
Trump, however, is not going down without a fight. He alleged fraud in the election, filed a lawsuit in Georgia to seek to stop vote counting, sued to stop Michigan and Pennsylvania’s vote count, and his campaign said Wednesday they would immediately request a recount in Wisconsin. He also prematurely and falsely declared victory early Wednesday — receiving criticism for doing so.
This year’s election looked different as the country continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the pandemic, it resulted in large numbers of mail-in ballots cast. It also caused the campaign trail to look different, as rallies were withheld for a while until the Trump administration kicked back off with holding rallies this summer.
The U.S. presidential inauguration will be held on January 20, 2021.
