Joe Biden widens electoral path as Trump campaign threatens recount

Biden extended his lead in Wisconsin and Michigan as counts continued in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and North Carolina

US President Donald Trump speaks during election night in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks at a drive-in election night event as Dr. Jill Biden looks on at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. AFP

Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden watch election results outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. AFP

US Vice President Mike Pence speaks flanked by US President Donald Trump during election night in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

Supporters pose with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, center, following his victory speech after winning another term in office, in Columbia, S.C. AP Photo

Biden supporter Lala Walker reacts to early election results in Houston, Texas. REUTERS

President Donald Trump supporter Loretta Oakes reacts while watching returns in favor of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, at a Republican election-night watch party, in Las Vegas. AP Photo

People gather to watch results in the presidential election on a screen in Times Square in New York, New York. EPA

Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee election commission is escorted by police from the central count location where absentee ballots were being counted carrying the final count in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. AFP

Election officials count absentee ballots in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. AFP

Los Angeles Police Department officers form a line in front of demonstrators during the 2020 Presidential election in Los Angeles, California. Bloomberg

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, speaks during a news conference at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg

A woman poses for a photo during an election night watch party organized by a group called "Villagers for Trump" in The Villages, Florida. AFP

People celebrate a win for incumbent candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) at Graham's election night watch party in Columbia, South Carolina. AFP

Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden worry as they watch the election results unfold on a giant screen in a square near the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

People react as they watch early results on T.V as they gather at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House during Election Day in Washington. Reuters

Martina Brown celebrates after being the last voter to cast her ballot at a polling station inside Knapp Elementary School on Election Day in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin. Reuters

A Code Enforcement officer asks to a supporter to stop placing US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence campaign signs in the limits of a polling station during the 2020 US presidential election in Palm Beach, Florida. Reuters

Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar speaks at the DFL election night watch party in St. Paul, Minnesota. Reuters

Republican US Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is joined by his wife Elaine Chao as he speaks at a press conference following his projected senate race victory at the Omni Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. EPA

Cairo Messenger newspaper publisher and editor Randy Fine, center, calls out election results as Steve Reagan writes them on the board on the front wall of the newspaper for the voters gathered in the street in Cairo, Georgia. AFP

Electoral workers at curbside voting in St. Charles County for voters who have coronavirus disease during Election Day in Missouri. Reuters

A election worker collects mail-in ballots at the Clark County election office in Las Vegas, Nevada. EPA

A woman wears a mask depicting US President Donald Trump at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC. EPA

Biden supporters face off a Trump supporter outside of a polling site, on Election Day in Houston, Texas. Reuters

Florida election results are displayed on a screen in Black Lives Matter Plaza during the 2020 Presidential election in Washington, DC. Bloomberg

First timer voter Jessica Henderson shows her "I Voted!" sticker after casting her ballot in-person on Election Day outside the Ruben F. Salazar Park recreation center, an official vote centre in East Los Angeles. AP Photo

Carolyn Fieles, left, Suzy Meredith-Orr, Frieda Wallison, and Judy Dunn open ballots in the Pitkin County Administration Building on Election Day in Aspen, Colorado. AP

Election workers organise ballots at the Multnomah County Elections Division Tuesday in Portland, Oregon. AP Photo

A supporter for Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) looks on during an Election Night party at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta In Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia. AFP

Volunteers gather at Detroit Branch NAACP Tuesday evening before polls closed in Detroit, Michigan. EPA

People gather in Times Square as they await election results in New York City. AFP

A woman helps an elderly voter put on headphone to follow directions as she casts her ballot at the Salazar Park polling location in Los Angeles, California. EPA

Vote counting in the US election could continue to the end of the week before either Donald Trump or Joe Biden clinch the Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.

As of Wednesday morning, the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona had not been called, leaving both candidates short of the 270 electoral votes required to win. But votes on Wednesday showed Mr Biden with more paths to the presidency than his rival.

Mr Biden was leading in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada by Wednesday at noon. If his lead holds, Mr Biden could reach the 270 mark even while losing Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, where Mr Trump is leading at the moment.

But the Biden campaign said in a call with reporters it was confident of winning Pennsylvania, attributing that to more than three million early votes still to be counted.

By Wednesday night, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania should have confirmed results, state officials said. Nevada will not be providing another update until Thursday morning.

"Biden is on track to win this election and he will be the next president of the United States,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, Mr Biden’s campaign manager said on the call on Wednesday.

The Biden campaign appeared bullish about winning Wisconsin and said its lead in Michigan is now “insurmountable” as the African-American vote there leaned heavily in favour of Democrats.

Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe told NBC news that all the ballots have been counted, as Mr Biden was leading by more than 20,000 votes there. But no major projection was made by the networks regarding the state by noon on Wednesday.

But despite a narrowing path for Mr Trump, whereby he would need to win four out of the six contested states to secure a second term, his campaign remained confident about his chances.

"If all legally cast ballots are counted, we believe the president will win," Bill Stepien, Mr Trump's campaign manager said.

He remained confident in the president’s chances to take Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Nevada.

Mr Stepien said Wisconsin was headed to "recount territory.”

But even former Republican governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, regarded a recount as unlikely to change the outcome of the result: “20,000 is a big hurdle,” he tweeted.

Mr Trump’s threat to go to the Supreme Court was rebuffed by the Biden campaign.

The president faces “embarrassing defeat” if he fights the results in the US Supreme Court, the Biden campaign said. Mr Biden said his team will not rest until every vote is counted.

In a tweet that was marked by Twitter as misleading, Mr Trump claimed “surprise ballot dumps” had been taking place.

But even if Mr Biden wins, the result is nowhere near the landslide that many Democrats hoped for.

Even in Senate races, the Democrats have so far failed to pick up enough seats to take the majority.

Republican Senators Mitch McConnell, Joni Ernst, Steve Daines and Lindsey Graham retained their seats in Kentucky, Iowa, Montana and South Carolina respectively.

Democratic Senator of Alabama Doug Jones lost his seat on Tuesday, but Democratic candidates John Hickenlooper and Mark Kelly picked up two seats in Colorado and Arizona.

With Maine and North Carolina still counting, the balance of the Senate is now 47-47. Fifty-one seats are needed for a majority. But, according to projections, the Democrats kept the House of Representatives.

The electoral map shows a better performance for Mr Biden in the Midwest than Hillary Clinton in 2016 but worse in the state of Florida that he lost by half a million votes. If Mr Biden wins Arizona and Georgia it would be the first time since 1992 with Bill Clinton that the Democrats win there.

However, without a Senate majority and a decisive win, Mr Biden will have a major challenge in securing a concession from Mr Trump, healing the nation and dealing with a divided Congress. If the Trump campaign does not secure the 270 electoral votes and enters litigation, the results and the transition to power may not start until December.

Tuesday’s election has been so far symptomatic of a polarised nation and highly divided electorate on the questions of the pandemic, economic recovery, the Supreme Court, racial justice and the way forward. The results from the outstanding states are unlikely to change this situation.