Joe Biden has been declared the winner of Arizona and its 11 electoral votes, AP announced.
With Arizona in his column, Biden could potentially afford to lose Pennsylvania and still win the election if he carries Wisconsin and Michigan.
Biden’s win in Arizona substantially limits Donald Trump’s path to victory, a fact that the president’s allies appear to be keenly aware of.
When Fox News called Arizona for Trump earlier tonight, the president’s advisers expressed outrage.
Earlier, Donald Trump declared victory in the presidential race, even as the most important battleground states remain too close to call.
This is the nightmare scenario many political reporters and strategists feared: the president is seeking to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the election as results start to move away from him.
At the risk of stating the obvious: there are still many legitimate ballots left to count in key states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and voters in those states will determine the winner of the presidential race.
Trump does not have the ability to unilaterally declare himself the winner. The counting continues.
Republicans appear likely to maintain control of the Senate. Despite Democrats’ hopes of flipping several seats tonight, Republicans have won key races in Iowa, Montana and South Carolina, nearly eliminating any chance of the chamber changing hands.
House Democrats are underperforming, even as they are expected to maintain control of the chamber. Several freshman Democrats who were expected to narrowly hold on to their seats have instead been defeated by Republican challengers.
