Biden, Harris win 2020 presidential election

Photos courtesy of Jlhervas (CC-BY-2.0) and Kathy Fang/NSPA & ACP (CC BY-NC 2.0)

President-elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were formally announced Saturday, after a tense several days of mail-in vote counting with an Electoral College victory inconclusive until Saturday.

By Garrett Kessler, Curran Rastogi, Catherine Khitiri and Lauren Snerson
November 9, 2020

Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 U.S. presidential election, announced Saturday morning after Biden exceeded the necessary 270 electoral votes, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump and ending his one-term presidency. 

“I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris,” Biden said in an address to the nation Saturday night from his hometown of Wilmington, Del. “In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America.”

Harris’ win is historic as she is the first woman named vice president-elect, as well as the first Black woman and woman of Indian descent. 

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said Saturday in her speech. 

As the nation looks ahead, current President Donald Trump has not formally conceded the election. Throughout last week, he made unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and illegal action around mail-in ballots and ballot tallying. Some other members of the Republican party have made similar statements, but neither Trump nor anyone else have presented actual evidence of wrongdoing or illegal action. 

“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said in a Nov. 8 Fox News article. “Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.”

As President Trump threatens more legal challenges, president-elect Biden and vice president-elect Harris turn their attention to the formal transition of power in preparation for the Jan. 20, 2021, presidential inauguration.

Photo credits:

“Joe Biden” by Jlhervas (flickr.com/photos/143528404@N04/50558658033)

“Kamala Harris Launch Rally” by Kathy Fang/NSPA & ACP (flickr.com/photos/182025665@N08/49426482142)