'We're going to win this race' - Joe Biden says he has 'clear majority'
7 November 2020, 04:21 | Updated: 7 November 2020, 14:35
Joe Biden tells nation: We're going to win
Joe Biden has said "we're going to win" the presidential race with a clear majority and over 300 electoral college votes.
Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, just before 11pm on Friday local time, he said: "We don't have a final declaration, a victor yet, but the numbers tell us a clear and convincing story.
"We're going to win this race, just look at what has happened since yesterday.
"24 hours (ago), we were behind in Georgia, now we're ahead, and we're going to win that state.
"24 hours ago, we were behind in Pennsylvania and we are going to win Pennsylvania. Now we're ahead, we're winning in Arizona, winning in Nevada, in fact our lead just doubled in Nevada."
Earlier Mr Biden narrowly overtook President Donald Trump in the vote counts in Georgia and Pennsylvania, with the presidency hinging on the outcome of tight contests in key battleground states.
Neither candidate has reached the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, though Mr Biden has the advantage after eclipsing Mr Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial Midwestern battleground states.
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Mr Biden continued: "We're on track to 300 electoral college votes, and look at the national numbers.
"We're going to win this race with a clear majority with a nation behind us."
"We've gotten over 74 million votes, that's more than any presidential ticket has ever gotten in the history of the United States of America," Mr Biden added.
"And our vote total is still growing. We're beating Donald Trump by over four million votes and that's a margin that's still growing as well."
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Officials in Georgia earlier confirmed that a recount would be held because of the close margin in the state.
It could take several more days for the vote count to conclude in some states, allowing a clear winner to emerge.
With millions of ballots yet to be tabulated, Mr Biden has already received more than 73 million votes nationally, the most in history.
Mr Biden overhauled Mr Trump's leads by more than 9,000 votes in Pennsylvania and 4,235 in Georgia, where a recount has been ordered.
Counters could also be redeployed in Pennsylvania where a recount is expected under state law if there is less than half a percentage point between the two candidates.
Mr Biden finished his speech with an appeal for calm along with a veiled response to Mr Trump's legal challenges, which the president has launched to improve his chances of re-election amid baseless allegations of fraud.
Mr Biden said: "I know tensions can be high after a tough election like the one we've had. But we need to remain calm. Patient. And let the process work out as we count all the votes."
Earlier, Mr Trump signalled he would not go quietly from the Oval Office, tweeting: "Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the president. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!
"I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by. Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!"
The Biden campaign was forthright in its reply to an earlier outburst by Mr Trump, in which he made unsubstantiated claims about "illegal ballots" in the election.
"As we said on July 19, the American people will decide this election," the campaign said in a statement.
"And the United States Government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson continued to say he has "every confidence" in the checks and balances of the American constitution and said he would "work closely with whoever is the president" but declined to comment further.
The winner needs to collect 270 electoral college votes by winning states.
Victory in Pennsylvania would hand the presidency to Mr Biden with its 20 votes but Georgia, with 16 electoral votes, is a more complicated scenario.
Not everyone agrees that Mr Biden has beyond all probability won in Arizona, and without that Georgia would leave him one vote short of overall victory.
