On Saturday, November 7, four days after the 2020 presidential election officially began on Tuesday, November 3, Democratic candidate Joe Biden was projected to be elected the 46th president of the United States after reaching 273 electoral votes as of 11:30 AM (ET), according to CNN and MSNBC.
Since Tuesday, Biden had maintained a stable reported 253 electoral votes, a 40-point lead over incumbent President Trump's 213 electoral votes. Biden officially earned more than the 270 electoral votes required to obtain the presidency by winning Pennsylvania as of Saturday morning, CNN reports.
The projected Biden campaign win is also a major historic moment for his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, who will be the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as Vice President.
Biden has also so far won the popular vote with 74,478,345 votes against Trump's 70,329,970 votes, as of noon, according to CNN.
Biden reacted on Twitter by sharing a message of hope and unity. "America, I'm honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country. The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not," he tweeted.
Harris echoed the sentiment. "This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started," she tweeted.
Trump has claimed that the 2020 election was fraudulent amid the counting of mail-in ballots over the past few days, which largely skewed democrat after Trump repeatedly told his supporters not to vote by mail. In August, Pew research data revealed that less than 20 percent of Trump voters were likely to vote by mail in the election.
Following Biden's win, celebrities took to social media to celebrate his campaign's achievement, as well as react to what has been one of the most contentious, close election races in U.S. history.