JOE BIDEN has taken a significant step towards victory in the US election after overtaking Donald Trump to lead in Pennsylvania.
The Irish-American Democrat is now on course to claim the key swing state’s 20 electoral votes in a development that would see him named the 46th President of the United States.
It represents a remarkable turnaround for Biden, who had been trailing Trump by nearly 1m votes before a major surge in mail-in ballots were counted in support of the challenger.
According to CNN, Biden now has a lead of some 5,587 votes in the Keystone State.
🇺🇸 Where key states stand for Biden
Right now, Joe Biden is ahead in four key states:
1⃣ Pennsylvania - 5,987 votes
2⃣ Georgia - 1,096
3⃣ Nevada - 11,438
4⃣ Arizona - 47,052#Elections2020 https://t.co/1lKRYd0As2 pic.twitter.com/8zGr6BcKE1— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) November 6, 2020
It comes just hours after the Democratic candidate overtook the President in Georgia, though there are still some 14,000 ballots left to count.
Success in Georgia would be a significant one for both Biden and his party. No Democrat has carried Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Victory there would leave the former US Vice President within touching distance of the White House, regardless of whether he wins in Pennsylvania.
Biden needs 17 more electoral college votes to become President-elect. Victory in Georgia would leave him requiring just one more. Victory in Pennsylvania would put him over the line.
In the meantime, Biden still leads in Nevada and Arizona by 11,438 and 47,052 votes.
The surge in voting for Biden is being attributed to the fact most mail-in ballots come from Democrat-leaning counties.
West Philly reacts to Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania by dancing in the street, of course pic.twitter.com/WBuipfLydN
— Ellie Rushing (@EllieRushing) November 6, 2020
It’s also worth noting that Trump repeatedly told supporters to vote in person during the election.
Despite this, Trump has repeatedly accused the Democrats of “tremendous corruption” in a series of baseless claims made during a hastily arranged press conference.
"If you count the legal votes I easily win. If you count the illegal votes – they can try to steal the election from us,” he told reporters.
He pledged he would not allow "corruption to steal such an important election".
"They did the mail in ballots where there's tremendous corruption and fraud going on," he added. "I told everybody that these things would happen."
"I've already decisively won," Trump added.
Several major US TV networks sought to clarify that Trump’s claims lacked any firm evidence.
