Pa. proves pivotal, propelling Joe Biden to White House

The Keystone State proved to be the key for Joe Biden after all.

The Associated Press called the race in Pennsylvania for Biden shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday, propelling the former vice president to the White House as the 46th president of the United States.

Biden has received 3,345,906 votes (49.68%) compared to Trump’s 3,311,448 (49.17%), according to the Associated Press’ latest data.

As of 11:30 a.m., the most recent information available, there were still 76,498 mail ballots to be counted. That’s about 3% of the 2.6 million mail ballots received. Many were from Allegheny County, a largely Democratic area, and the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia County.

About 65% of mail ballots were cast by a Democratic voter.

If there is less than a half percentage point difference between Biden’s and Trump’s vote totals, state law dictates that a recount must be held.

All eyes were on Pennsylvania for the past several days, where Biden’s methodical march began Wednesday.

Biden overtook Trump early Friday and has slowly built his lead with each count update.

Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes put Biden over the top, giving him the necessary 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency. Biden currently has 284 votes to Trump’s 214.

Biden also leads in the battlegrounds of Georgia and Nevada. The vote count in Arizona, although called for Biden by the AP earlier in the week, also remains close. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Trump, who held a 675,000-vote lead in Pennsylvania early Wednesday, prematurely declared victory in the state.

“We’re winning Pennsylvania by a tremendous amount. We’re up 690,000 votes in Pennsylvania. These aren’t even close. It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s close,’” Trump said during an appearance at the White House.

The late-counted ballots were overwhelmingly in Biden’s favor.

One reason the race tightened: Under state law, elections officials are not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day. It’s a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden’s favor after Trump spent months claiming — without proof — that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.

Democrats had long considered Pennsylvania a part of their “blue wall” — a trifecta that also includes Wisconsin and Michigan — that for years had served as a bulwark in presidential elections. In 2016, Trump won each by less than a percentage point.

Biden, who was born in Scranton, claims favorite-son status in the state and has long played up the idea that he was Pennsylvania’s “third senator” during his decades representing neighboring Delaware. He’s also campaigned extensively in the state from his home in Delaware.