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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 04, 2020, 8:22 PM EST

Peters projected to keep his Senate seat in Michigan

Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters will win his Michigan Senate race, ABC News projects.

Peters has held the seat since 2014.

Sen. Gary Peters speaks during an event with Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden at Beech Woods Recreation Center, in Southfield, Mich., Oct. 16, 2020.
Carolyn Kaster/AP, FILE

Peters defeated John James, a former Apache combat helicopter pilot in Iraq, who previously ran for the Senate in 2018. During the campaign Peters touted his accomplishments for Michigan and tied James to Trump, while James sought to portray Peters as too liberal for the Rust Belt state.

Nov 04, 2020, 8:16 PM EST

Democrat in Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District race concedes

Attorney Hillary Scholten, the Democrat running in Michigan's 3rd Congressional District to replace retiring Rep. Justin Amash, conceded to Republican candidate Peter Meijer Wednesday.

"We may not have won tonight, but this isn't the end of our fight for a better and bright West Michigan for all," Scholten said in a statement. 

Meijer tweeted that he spoke with Scholten and congratulated her on running a "strong and focused campaign."

"We may differ in approach, but we share common ground in wanting to see West Michigan thrive," he tweeted.

Amash left the Republican Party last year. He also considered running for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, but decided against it and ultimately chose to retire from Congress after finishing his current term.

Nov 04, 2020, 7:56 PM EST

At least 600,000 ballots in Arizona's most populous county not yet counted

At least 600,000 ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona, are still outstanding, ABC's "Good Morning America" weekend co-anchor Whit Johnson said.

These ballots are absentee ballots that voters brought to the polls in person on Election Day or the weekend before, he said on ABC News Live Prime. 

"We're looking at 600,000, maybe even more outstanding ballots here in the state of Arizona which could potentially swing things," he said. "We have seen Donald Trump getting closer and closer, inching and narrowing that lead that is currently possessed by Joe Biden, but right now the Democrats are confident. They're hanging on."

ABC News has not projected a winner in Arizona.

Nov 04, 2020, 7:45 PM EST

Trump campaign files 3rd lawsuit

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in Georgia Wednesday night -- its third of the day. 

This suit, filed in Chatham County, home to Savannah, alongside the Georgia Republican Party, is seeking to order the county to compile, store and account for all ballots received after 7 p.m. on Election Day, the receipt deadline.

The suit alleges that the county may be mishandling ballots, and therefore inadvertently mixing up ballots that arrived on time with ones that arrived late.

This suit is based on a single allegation from an out-of-state Republican poll observer that involves less than 60 ballots.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

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