While it remains unclear whether former Vice President Joe Biden will pull off a win over President Donald Trump – with millions of mail-in ballots still to count in several key swing states – he has surpassed 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in electoral college votes.
Biden currently holds 238 electoral college votes to the 232 won by Clinton in the 2016 election (though only 227 electoral votes were allocated to her due to five faithless electors).
In addition to winning the usual Democratic states like New York and California and Democratic-leaning states like New Hampshire and Minnesota, Biden clinched several electoral votes Clinton fell short with in 2016.
Biden’s biggest gain over Clinton was winning the 11 electoral votes of Arizona – which hasn’t voted Democratic since 1996 but has trended blue in recent cycles, going for Trump by just 3 points in 2016 – in addition to the one vote of Nebraska’s 2nd district, which last voted Democratic in 2008.
The only Clinton state Biden has not yet won is Nevada, which is still counting many of its ballots but where Biden’s apparent weakness with Hispanic voters may cause him headaches and give Trump a surprise victory.
Even after defeating Biden in Texas, Iowa and Florida, Trump is trailing his 2016 electoral vote count significantly, with just 213 votes to his 306 last cycle thanks to a handful of uncalled races.
Crucial quote
“We can know the results as early as tomorrow morning, but it may take a little longer. As I’ve said all along, it’s not my place or Donald Trump’s place to declare who’s won this election, that’s the decision of the American people,” Biden said in remarks early Wednesday morning, adding that he’s “optimistic about this outcome.”
What to watch out for
Many absentee ballots, which are expected to skew heavily Democratic, remain uncounted in several key states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, as well as Georgia.
Wisconsin is expected to report a trove of ballots early Wednesday morning, while the other states will continue counting later Wednesday.