Live six minutes ago: Biden takes lead over Trump in Pennsylvania and Georgia
US election count updates: Democratic candidate Joe Biden pulls ahead of president in key states
Joe Biden is in the box seat in the presidential election.
By Irish Times reporter
Democratic candidate Joe Biden has called for the public to stay calm as the votes are counted and said he has “no doubt” he will win the presidency. Video: Reuters
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden took the lead in the two key states of Georgia and Pennsylvania on Friday, edging closer to winning the White House in a nail-biting contest as a handful of undecided states continue to count votes.
Mr Biden has a 253 to 214 lead in the state-by-state electoral college vote that determines the winner, according to most major television networks.
Mr Biden (77) would become the next president by winning Pennsylvania, or by winning two out of the trio of Georgia, Nevada and Arizona. Mr Trump’s likeliest path appears narrower – he needs to hang onto both Pennsylvania and Georgia and also to overtake Mr Biden in either Nevada or Arizona.
Mr Biden also maintained slim advantages in Arizona and Nevada. In Arizona, his lead narrowed to about 47,000 early on Friday and in Nevada he was ahead by about 11,500 votes.
As the country held its breath for a result in the White House race, Georgia and Pennsylvania officials expressed optimism they would finish counting on Friday, while Arizona and Nevada were still expected to take days to complete their vote totals.
Flagged
Mr Trump (74) fired off several tweets in the early morning hours on Friday, reiterating the complaints he aired earlier at the White House. “I easily WIN the Presidency of the United States with LEGAL VOTES CAST,” he said on Twitter, without offering any evidence that any illegal votes have been cast.
Twitter flagged the post as possibly misleading, something it has done to numerous posts by Trump since Election Day.
Late on Thursday night, Mr Trump claimed the election process was fraudulent as Mr Biden appeared to be in touching distance of winning the electoral college.