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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.

Top headlines:

Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 03, 2020, 11:17 PM EST

Ga. Senate special election will go to run-off between Loeffler, Warnock

ABC News projects the Georgia Senate special election will go to a run-off, as none of the candidates met the required threshold to win the race, an expected result as 20 candidates competed on the same ballot.

Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. served as co-pastor until his death, will be one candidate in the race. Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler will be the other.

Supporters of Sen. Kelly Loeffler attend an election night party on Nov. 03, 2020, in Atlanta.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

 

Rep. Doug Collins, who currently serves as Georgia's 9th Congressional District representative, was beaten out by Loeffler. The two have been in a competitive race for months, trying to prove themselves as the most loyal to the president and the most conservative choices on the ballot. 

Collins tweeted that he's congratulated Loeffler and will be supporting her. 

Loeffler was appointed to this seat by Gov. Brian Kemp in late 2019 to replace retiring Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson. 

The runoff will be on Jan. 5.

-ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan

Nov 03, 2020, 11:12 PM EST

'I think it's clear' that Trump voters are turning out: Matthew Dowd

ABC Chief Political Analyst Matthew Dowd said "it's clear" that Trump voters are turning out this election. 

"It's not as if the African American vote's not turning out and there's a problem -- they're turning out, but the counter to that is Donald Trump's supporters are turning out, even in greater numbers than they did in 2016." 

Nov 03, 2020, 11:07 PM EST

Biden boosted by projected win in California 

Biden will win the Pacific West Coast -- taking California, Oregon and Washington -- ABC News projects, and raising his Electoral College standing to 187 votes. 

ABC News projects Trump will win Wyoming and Mississippi, raising his Electoral College standing to 114 votes.

Nov 03, 2020, 11:01 PM EST

Polls close in 5 states 

The polls are closing in California, Oregon, Washington, parts of Idaho and parts of Alaska.

Evening voters cast their ballots at the Lang Park Community Center in Laguna Beach, Calif., Nov. 3, 2020.
Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP

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