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Election 2020 updates: Biden warns of 'dark winter,' pushes masks in pandemic plan

The president-elect emphasized how he would handle the pandemic response.

ByCatherine Thorbecke, Morgan Winsor, Libby Cathey, Adia Robinson, Lauren King, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, and Marc Nathanson
Last Updated: November 10, 2020, 10:14 AM EST

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.

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Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 03, 2020, 10:55 PM EST

Graham projected to keep his Senate seat

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a key ally to Trump, will win his South Carolina Senate race, ABC News projects.

Graham defeats Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, a former lobbyist and state Democratic Party chairman, who quite literally gave Graham a run for his money in what became the state’s most expensive Senate contest to date.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham reacts after marking his ballot electronically while voting in the general election, Nov. 3, 2020, at the Corinth-Shiloh Fire Dept. in Seneca, S.C.
Richard Shiro/AP

In a concession speech posted to Twitter, Harrison said, "We didn't get the result at the ballot box that we wanted, but we showed courage and determination. We brought hope back to South Carolina."

Nov 03, 2020, 10:52 PM EST

Trump projected to win Utah, Kansas, Missouri, Biden to take Illinois

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.<

Nov 03, 2020, 10:49 PM EST

Philadelphia officials close Center City area

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.

A person walked by a boarded up Wawa in Center City Philadelphia, Nov. 3, 2020. Many storefronts and office buildings in downtown Philadelphia are boarded up in anticipation of unrest on Election Day.
Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

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

Nov 03, 2020, 10:44 PM EST

Democrats projected to keep control of the House

ABC News projects Democrats will keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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