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Several Major Outlets Call Race For Biden After Projecting Pennsylvania

   DailyWire.com
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Associated Press, ABC News, CNN, and NBC News called the 2020 presidential election for Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Saturday morning after projecting Biden as the winner of Pennsylvania and its 20 votes in the electoral college. 

By calling Pennsylvania for Biden, the media outlets joined DecisionDeskHQ in putting the Democratic nominee at 273 votes in the electoral college, where 270 votes are needed to secure the presidency when the electors meet in December. 

The Trump campaign responded to the developments by releasing a statement from President Donald Trump, in which he said the election was “far from over.”

“We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor. In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process.  Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media,” Trump said in the statement.

“Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated. The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election. It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters. Only a party engaged in wrongdoing would unlawfully keep observers out of the count room – and then fight in court to block their access,” he continued.

Jenna Ellis, senior legal adviser and attorney for the Trump campaign, also said in a statement to The Daily Wire that the election is not over.

“Media coordinated efforts are attempting to simply declare Joe Biden the president and ignore the rule of law. There is no official winner until every legal vote is counted accurately, the states certify results, and all legal challenges are resolved,” Ellis said.

As The Daily Wire previously reported, the Trump campaign has initiated a series of legal battles in different key states, but those challenges will likely take time to resolve. It’s also not clear whether the legal challenges will ultimately impact the final outcome of the race.

In a tweet Saturday afternoon, after the networks made the call, Biden remarked: “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. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

With the exception of the AP, the outlets have not called the race in Arizona, which still shows some signs of narrowing. In a move that was met with widespread criticism, Fox News gave Arizona to Trump on election night. While the network did not join the other outlets in projecting a winner in Pennsylvania, Fox News called the race for Biden on Saturday shortly following AP’s announcement. Fox News gave Biden a winning total after declaring the Democrat the winner of Nevada.

The AP, which says it only calls races when a candidate has no path to victory, explained its decision to call Pennsylvania as follows.

The AP called the race for Biden, who held a 30,952-vote lead after it determined that the remaining ballots left to be counted would not allow Trump to catch up. The news agency has already declared Biden the winner in both Michigan and Wisconsin.

Under Pennsylvania law, a recount is automatic when the margin between two candidates in a statewide race is less than 0.5 percentage points. Biden’s lead over Trump was on track to stay outside of that margin as final votes are counted.

This article has been updated to include additional information, including Fox News’ decision to call the race for Biden after giving him Nevada. 

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