It’s over: Joe Biden clinches victory in presidential election

Biden will become the 46th president while Trump will become the first one term president in the 21st century

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President-Elect Joe Biden at a 2019 campaign rally

Carly Philpott, News Editor

After months of campaigning and almost a week of tabulating ballots, Former Vice President Joe Biden has won the presidential election and become president-elect.

“America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country,” Biden said in a statement posted across several social media platforms. “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.”

In many ways, the Democrats’ battle for the presidency began almost as soon as the last one ended. In 2017, the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, millions of Americans marched in the streets in protest. For Democrats and many others, Trump’s loss on Saturday marks an important victory for their country and their democracy.

Biden became the projected winner after most news networks declared Biden wins in Pennsylvania and Nevada, which pushed the candidate over the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Democratic wins are still expected in Arizona and Georgia.

Following the news of his loss, President Trump made it clear that this election was not over from his point of view, and that his campaign and legal team would continue to battle in court. Most of the cases they are pushing are unfounded. “I won this election, by a lot,” Trump falsely stated in all caps in a tweet. The tweet was marked by Twitter as potentially misleading.

This election marks history in more ways than one. Donald Trump will be only the third president to serve one term and then lose reelection since World War II, and Joe Biden will be the oldest elected president ever, receiving more of the popular vote than any candidate in American history. Trump received the second most, and between the two of them, this election set a record in voter turnout. Additionally, a historically high number of voters used mail-in ballots rather than in-person voting. Many states were not prepared for this as tabulation took almost two times as long as normal, with many states still not completely done.

Equally historic, Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris will be the first woman and the first person of color ever to be elected as vice president. This is an important victory for not just American women and people of color, but for all Americans, as it marks the next step in our government’s diversity.

“We did it, Joe,” Harris stated in a now-viral video of her call with Biden shortly after the announcement of their win. “You’re going to be the next president of the United States.”

Biden is expected to give his acceptance speech at 6 p.m. mountain time this evening.