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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 04, 2020, 2:15 PM EST

Trump campaign promises recount in Wisconsin

The Trump campaign will request a recount in "razor thin" Wisconsin, campaign manager Bill Stepien said.

Without providing evidence, Stepien claimed "there have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results."

In Wisconsin, you can request a recount if you’re within one percentage point in Wisconsin. Right now, the margin is .7% -- about 20,000 votes.

At this time Biden is leading Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin.

A recount is unlikely to yield major changes.

Empty boxes from Milwaukee's voting wards are seen the night of Election Day as absentee ballots are counted at Milwaukee Central Count in Milwaukee, Nov. 3, 2020.
Bing Guan/Reuters

Scott Walker, a former Republican Wisconsin governor and Trump ally, tweeted that he thinks 20,000 votes is a "high hurdle" for the president to overcome. "After recount in 2011 race for WI Supreme Court, there was a swing of 300 votes. After recount in 2016 Presidential race in WI, (Trump's) numbers went up by 131," he tweeted.

-ABC News' Political Director Rick Klein, Benjamin Siegel and Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer

Nov 04, 2020, 2:02 PM EST

Biden campaign manager sends fundraising email for new 'fight fund'

Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillion launched a new “fight fund” in a fundraising email following Trump’s remarks on election night.

“The President threatened to go to court to prevent the proper tabulation of votes. We are standing up the biggest and most comprehensive legal effort ever assembled. This work could stretch on for weeks, so I am coming to you to ask you to pitch $25 in to the newly-formed Biden Fight Fund,” she wrote.“The Biden Fight Fund will fund election protection efforts for Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot. If he makes good on this threat, our legal team is standing by. And they will prevail.”

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 04, 2020, 2:02 PM EST

Trump campaign hosting press conference in Philadelphia at 3:30 pm ET

In the battleground state of Pennsylvania where votes are still being counted, the Trump campaign will host a press conference in Philadelphia at 3:30 p.m. ET. 

Attending the press conference will be Eric Trump, his wife Lara Trump, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and senior campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski. 

-ABC News' Terrance Smith

Nov 04, 2020, 1:47 PM EST

Trump's top campaign advisers plotting path forward: Sources

Sources tell ABC News that Trump's top campaign advisers are huddled at the campaign offices outside of Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon plotting a path forward. Among the campaign advisers there are White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner.

Sources say the teams have spent the day in meetings and conducting calls with staff.  

As of now, it is unclear if Trump will make any public appearance Wednesday.

-ABC News' John Satucci and Katherine Faulders

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