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.
The Trump campaign is expected to name adviser Dave Bossie to lead the campaign's legal efforts challenging the election results, sources confirmed to ABC News.
Bossie is the head of Citizens United -- a conservative nonprofit organization -- and was Trump's deputy campaign manager in 2016.
The news was first reported by The New York Times
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
Judge Cynthia Stephens issued a formal order Friday denying the Trump campaign's request to stop counting in Wayne County, Michigan, home to Detroit.
Stephens specifically cited the lack of evidence and detail provided by the campaign in the case.
"As stated on the record at the November 5, 2020 hearing, plaintiffs are not entitled to the extraordinary form of emergency relief they have requested," she wrote.
The suit tried to stop the vote count in based on allegations that the campaign was not given adequate access to observe the vote counting process. It was also seeking access to review any ballots that were opened which they were unable to witness.
-ABC News' Olivia Rubin and Allison Pecorin
With Trump trailing Biden in the Pennsylvania vote count, state Republicans are asking the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency order to ensure that no late-arriving mail ballots are added to the totals.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar has already confirmed to ABCNews that those ballots are not showing up in the tally.
But in the attached filing, the GOP argues that Boockvar's guidance is non-biding on county boards and claims that 25 of 67 counties haven't indicated whether or not they are abiding by it and in fact segregating the late-arriving votes.
"Without an immediate order from this Court, [Republican Party of Pennsylvania] could lose its right to 'a targeted remedy' if the State Supreme Court’s decision is ultimately overturned," they write.
-ABC News' Devin Dwyer
In North Carolina, where 95% of the expected vote is in, Trump is leading by 76,701 votes. Trump has 50% (2,732,084 votes) while Biden has 48.6% (2,655,383 votes).
About 99,000 of voters who requested an absentee ballot have not yet returned a ballot. The 99,000 number does not yet account for voters who requested an absentee ballot but voted in person on Election Day instead.
Ten local county boards are meeting Friday night to review and approve mail-in ballots that arrived since Election Day.
-ABC News' Tonya Simpson
