Joe Biden is set to become the 46th president of the United States, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump. ABC News characterized Joe Biden as the apparent winner of his home state of Pennsylvania, putting him over the 270 vote threshold needed to capture the presidency.
The hard-fought battle against the president was set against the backdrop of racial unrest and the coronavirus pandemic and bitter divisions among the electorate.
Trump had falsely declared on election night, when he held a lead in several key states, that he won the contest and alleged without evidence, after the count started to swing the other way, that the election was being stolen from him and that fraud had been committed.
Painting the election as a "battle for the soul of the nation," Biden won on a message of unity over division, compassion over anger, and reality over what he called Trump's "wishful thinking" as the coronavirus pandemic cast a heavy shadow over the campaign.
Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 03, 2020, 9:39 PM EST
Hickenlooper projected to win Colorado, 1st Senate seat Dems pick up
In the first Senate flip of the night, Democrat John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado and 2020 presidential candidate, will defeat GOP Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, ABC News projects.
John Hickenlooper, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in Colorado, speaks during a car rally in Denver, Oct. 8, 2020.
David Zalubowski/AP, FILE
It’s a hopeful sign for Democrats who are seeking to flip the upper chamber.
Gardner was seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbents defending his seat heading into the election.
Hickenlooper had to battle against some ethics violations brought down during his time as governor, but his general popularity and assistance from the DSCC helped him through the final months of the election. The race shaped up to be the 10th most expensive at $95,670,908 according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
-ABC News' Meg Cunningham
Nov 03, 2020, 9:33 PM EST
Trump projected to win the Dakotas and Alabama, Biden to win Colorado
Trump will win the Dakotas and Alabama -- raising his Electoral College standing to 63 votes -- ABC News projects, and Biden will win Colorado -- raising his Electoral College standing to 89 votes, with 30% of the expected vote in nationwide.
Nov 03, 2020, 9:26 PM EST
Early reaction from Florida: Biden lost ground with crucial Cuban constituency
As vote totals in Miami-Dade, Florida's most populous county, show Biden underperforming compared to the 2016 election totals, political analysts there saw signs of a new phenomenon -- the migration of some segments of the Hispanic community further away from Democrats.
Home to the largest concentration of Cubans outside the island nation, Biden is carrying about 54% of the vote. Four years earlier, Hillary Clinton won the county with 63% of the vote.
"Biden is indeed underperforming here and the most logical explanation is the movement on the part of Latinos, especially Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans but also other South Americans who were very susceptible to the Republican message about socialism," said Eduardo Gamarra, a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University in Miami. "Let's wait to see what the final numbers are in this county but at least for the moment, the big news is the Latino defection of the Democratic Party."
Experts told ABC News that Republican advertising during the closing weeks of the campaign targeted the Cuban community. Some of it pushed misleading messages about Biden, they said.
A voter wears a "Count Every Vote" face mask outside the Miami-Dade County Elections Department during the presidential election in Miami, Nov. 3, 2020.
Marco Bello/Reuters
Alex Penelas, former mayor of Miami-Dade County and a Republican strategist, said "painting all Democrats as radical socialists definitely had an effect."
In Florida, more than half of Cuban voters backed Trump in 2016, according to Pew Research. And according to Florida International University's 2018 Cuba Poll, 54% of Cubans in South Florida were registered as Republicans in 2018.
Yamil Velez, an assistant professor of Political Science at Columbia University said he did believe Democrats did not sufficiently counter misinformation targeting the Cuban communities.
-ABC News' Laura Romero
Nov 03, 2020, 9:25 PM EST
Massive Texas turnout gives Dems hope they can turn state blue
More than 9.5 million people in Texas have cast their ballot early in Texas, ABC News correspondent Marcus Moore said. The number of people who have voted early in the state surpasses the number of people who voted in 2016.
Election workers process mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day in Houston, Texas, Nov. 2, 2020.
Callaghan O'hare/Reuters
"When we talk about the voter turnout, it has been massive here in Texas," Moore said. "And it is the reason why Democrats feel like they can turn this historically red state blue and of course time will tell if that happens."
Voting has gone smoothly in Texas, Moore said, with only a few polling stations open late because of technical difficulties. Both Democrats and Republicans are encouraged by good weather in the state.
