The president-elect emphasized how he would handle the pandemic response.
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.
The 2020 election has shattered voting records with votes totaling 147 million and counting, surpassing the 138 million who voted in 2016.
Trump is expected to win Utah and Kansas, taking six electoral votes from each state, along with Missouri’s 10 electoral votes, ABC News projects, raising the president's Electoral College standing to 105 votes.
Biden is projected to win the Democratic-stronghold of Illinois and its 20 electoral votes, raising his standing in the Electoral College to 113.<
Officials in Philadelphia have closed Center City, including the convention center -- where ballots are being counted -- City Hall and the city's main shopping district, which saw looting and destruction this summer during protests over the death of George Floyd.
The city's Office of Emergency Management said that Center City traffic closures are in effect, though there are no impacts to SEPTA service or pedestrian access and all residents and essential employees, including hospital workers, can access the area by showing ID.
-ABC News' Eva Pilgrim
ABC News projects Democrats will keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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.
