Election 2020 updates: Biden warns of 'dark winter,' pushes masks in pandemic plan
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.
Top headlines:
Trump projected to West Virginia
Trump will win West Virginia's five electoral college votes, ABC News projects.
GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is also projected to win reelection in the state.
The crucial swing state of Florida
ABC News' Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce says that the Biden campaign knew Florida would be "a toss up," but she suspects that the campaign is "very surprised" by how tight the race is is key areas like Miami-Dade. Bruce touted how much time the Biden campaign spent in the state trying to win voters, especially the key demographic of senior voters.
"They have put a lot of effort into trying to get out the vote there and so much of the message there, of course, on the pandemic as they try to target senior voters," Bruce said.
The impact of Latino voters this election cycle
ABC Senior White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega said "this election could be the Latino election" as Latino Americans have voted early and in higher numbers than they ever have before. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have pushed hard to win Latino voters, who make up a sizable portion of the electorate in key states like Florida.
Keep in mind, however, that "Latinos are not a monolith," Vega said. "Latinos who vote in Florida tend to vote very differently than say Mexican Americans that we see in places like Texas and Arizona."