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Trump Predicts Election Victory in Early-Morning Address, Calls Ballot Count Delay ‘Fraud’

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President Donald Trump speaks about early results from the presidential election in the East Room of the White House, November 4, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Live updates from Election Night 2020: The latest on the race for the White House and control of Congress.

2:27 a.m.: President Trump touted his “phenomenal” election performance during a brief address from the White House early Wednesday morning. While the race remains too close to call, Trump, who had secured 213 of the 270 electoral votes needed, predicted victory, saying it would be “impossible” for the Biden-Harris ticket to overtake him in Pennsylvania, which, along with Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina, has yet to be called and may prove decisive.

He went on to argue that efforts to continue counting ballots after election day in states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin amounted to “fraud.”

“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election,” he said.

Trump Narrows Gap with Wins in Texas, Florida

1:15 a.m.: President Trump has won Texas’s 38 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press. Trump’s margin of victory, six points, is less than his victory in 2016, but is approximately double the margin in Senator Ted Cruz’s 2018 win, which pushed some to speculate that Texas could flip in 2020.

Trump Wins Ohio and Florida, Biden Takes Minnesota as Race Hinges on a Few States

12:25 a.m.: The Associated Press reports that President Trump is expected to win Florida, Ohio, and Iowa, while Joe Biden will win Minnesota, as the presidential race continues to tighten.

In Florida, the president increased his margin from 2016 in a surprising four-point victory, and with over 95 percent of the vote in, Trump leads Biden by approximately eight points in both Ohio and Iowa, 53 to 45 percent. In Minnesota, with three-quarters of the vote in, Biden leads Trump by nearly 10 points.

The race continues to whittle down to a handful of critical battlegrounds in the Rust Belt and the South — namely, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Biden Notches West Coast Wins, but Trails in Rust Belt

11:10 p.m.: Joe Biden has locked in wins along the West Coast in California, Oregon, and Washington, as the final set of state polls have closed, the Associated Press reports.

But the former vice president currently trails President Trump across the Rust Belt in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, as vote totals continue to pour in. The president has also mounted a comeback in Ohio, a state that he initially fell behind in, only to surge ahead by approximately seven points with over 99 percent of the vote in.

House Republicans Pick Up Two Seats in South Florida

11:00 p.m.: Freshmen Democrats have lost two seats in the House to Republican challengers in Miami, according to calls by the AP.

Carlos Gimenez, the current mayor of Miami-Dade County, has defeated Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who flipped Florida’s 26th Congressional District blue in 2018. In Florida’s 27th Congressional District, current Representative Donna Shalala has lost to Republican Maria Elvira Salazar.

Votes in Miami-Dade County — Florida’s largest county — have trended heavily Republican, a major shock on Election Night.

Graham Holds On in South Carolina, Tuberville Defeats Doug Jones

10:15 p.m.: Republican Tommy Tuberville has defeated incumbent Doug Jones to reclaim a Senate seat for the GOP in Alabama, according to the Associated Press. Jones was widely considered the likeliest Democrat to fall in the Senate.

10:10 p.m.: The AP projects that Republican incumbents John Cornyn (Texas) and Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) will both defeat their respective Democratic challengers, boosting Republican efforts to retain their slim Senate majority.

Cornyn’s opponent MJ Hegar has called him to concede the race, and Graham’s win comes in spite of over tens of millions in spending by his opponent, former lobbyist Jaime Harrison.

Democrats Pick Up Senate Seat in Colorado as Hickenlooper Defeats Gardner

9:50 p.m.: Senator Cory Gardner (R.) will lose his Senate seat to former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, the AP projects.

Hickenlooper’s victory narrows an already slim Republican majority in the Senate.

Biden Wins New Mexico, in Flurry of Race Calls

9:05 p.m.: As the next round of polls close, former vice president Joe Biden will win New Mexico, the Associated Press says.

Biden is also projected to win New York, while President Trump is expected to win Louisiana, Nebraska, Wyoming, and both Dakotas.

Florida has yet to be called, despite Trump’s leading by three points with over 90 percent of the state in.

McConnell Defeats Dem Challenger Amy McGrath in Kentucky Senate Race

8:05 p.m.: Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell will win reelection in the state of Kentucky, the Associated Press projects.

McConnell defeated Amy McGrath, who out-raised and outspent the incumbent with national backing. It will be McConnell’s seventh term in the U.S. Senate.

Biden Projected to Win Virginia

7:40 p.m.: Former vice president Joe Biden will win the state of Virginia and its 13 electoral votes, according to The Associated Press.

Florida Early Vote Shows Trump Cutting into 2016 Margin in Miami-Dade County

7:30 p.m.: Returns in Florida show President Trump vastly outperforming his 2016 vote margin in Miami-Dade County, Florida’s biggest prize.

With approximately 85 percent of the vote in, Trump trails Biden by less than 100,000 votes, with the former vice president leading the race 54 to 43 percent. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the county by 30 points.

In other news, the polls have closed in Georgia, but the state may not deliver its results tonight. Atlanta’s Fulton County, the largest county in the state, has delayed its count due to a burst water pipe.

Trump Projected to Win Kentucky, in Early Race Call

7:05 p.m.: The Associated Press has called the Kentucky presidential vote for Donald Trump — one hour after the polls closed in the state.

Currently, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is battling challenger Amy McGrath for the Senate, with the race yet to be called.

The AP has also called Vermont for Joe Biden.

6:35 p.m.: Election Night 2020 centers around the battle for the White House and Democrats’ efforts to reclaim the Senate. The night could be over quickly, or Americans could be waiting days for results in states like Pennsylvania, where mail-in ballots, which were cast in historic numbers due to COVID, have yet to be counted due to a state law that prevents early counting.

The first polls in the nation closed in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6:00 p.m., with three major bellwethers due to close over the next hour: Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Pre-election polls have shown a tight race in all three, with the RealClearPolitics average showing margins of Biden +0.9, Trump +1.0, and Trump +0.2, respectively. If the president fails to come out on top in any of the three races, it could spell an early night.

But the Trump team feels good, relative to where they were on Election Night in 2016. Campaign manager Bill Stepien told reporters on a Tuesday night call that “it’s gonna come down to turnout.”

The Biden campaign has also expressed confidence in its lead in early voting and mail-in ballots, but raised some eyebrows earlier Tuesday when it said that Florida and Pennsylvania, traditionally considered two of the most important states in determining the election, are not essential to the Biden effort. Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon told reporters that the two states “are requirements for Donald Trump to get to 270. They are not requirements for Joe Biden to get to 270.”

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