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, 10:41 PM EST
Trump projected to win 3 out of 5 electoral votes in Nebraska
ABC News projects Trump will win the state of Nebraska -- but because the state allocates electoral votes based on both the statewide result and the results in congressional districts, the electoral votes are not allocated all at once.
Democrats are still hoping to flip Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, stopping Trump from another electoral vote.
Despite a recent public spat with the president, Republican Sen. Ben Sasse is also projected to win reelection in Nebraska.
Nov 03, 2020, 10:38 PM EST
Pa. governor: Election went 'remarkably smoothly,' urges patience
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar reported that the election went "remarkably smoothly" but continued to urge patience as the state waits on outstanding absentee ballots and just begins to count those which have already arrived.
Election workers check mail-in and absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election at West Chester University, Nov. 3, 2020, in West Chester, Pa.
Matt Slocum/AP
As of 10:15 p.m. ET, Pennsylvania's online tracker of unofficial reports from counties on the total number of mail ballots that have been cast shows that nearly 13% of the absentee ballots received by the state -- just over 2.5 million-- have been counted.
"As I've been saying, just be patient," Wolf told reporters at the first of two schedules press conferences Tuesday evening. "What's most important is that we have accurate results and that every vote is counted, even if that takes a little longer."
But neither she nor Wolf provided a timeline for the count, saying only that the counties were committed to moving as quickly as they can and that the seven counties waiting until Wednesday to get started represented a small fraction of the vote.
An election worker opens up a mail-in ballot before it is counted in the 2020 general election at the Dauphin County Administration Building, Nov. 3, 2020, in Harrisburg, Pa.
Julio Cortez/AP
Wolf was also asked about preparations for potential unrest should the Pennsylvania count become a focal point in a close race. He said that several state law enforcement agencies are already coordinating and "ready" should there be an issue.
--ABC News' Adam Kelsey
Nov 03, 2020, 10:33 PM EST
Trump projected to win Louisiana, Biden to take New Hampshire
Trump will hold onto Louisiana's eight electoral votes and Biden will gain four from taking New Hampshire, ABC News projects, raising Trump’s Electoral College standing to 83 votes and Biden’s to 93.
A poll watcher looks on as clerks check voters in at the Captain Samuel Douglass Academy polling station in Brookline, N.H., Nov. 3, 2020.
In the first Senate seat to flip for Republicans, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville will defeat Democratic Sen. Doug Jones for Alabama’s Senate seat, ABC News projects.
Jones won a special election in 2017 but ultimately lost to Tuberville, who became a close Trump ally as he beat out Jeff Sessions, Trump's first and former attorney general, in the primary earlier this year.
