Joe Biden declared that “we’re going to win this race” in a late-night address on Friday. The address came after a rollercoaster day that began with Biden taking the lead in two key states — but as vote counts trickled in throughout the day, there was not yet enough information to project a winner.
Biden urged faith in the counting process, as President Trump continued to baselessly claim that the election was being stolen from him.
“Democracy works — your vote will be counted,” Biden said. “I don’t care how hard people try to stop it. I will not let it happen. People will be heard. Our journey is toward a more perfect union”
Much of the focus was on Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, enough at this stage to win Biden the presidency. Biden surpassed the president in Pennsylvania Friday morning, and as of 11 p.m. ET led by more than 28,000 votes. But with more than 6.5 million ballots already counted and nearly 100,000 ballots still outstanding, the lead was too small to declare a winner for the state.
CBS News still considers Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina toss-ups, while Nevada is likely Democratic and Arizona is leaning toward Biden. President Trump made up ground in Arizona, while Biden slightly expanded his lead in Nevada.
Mr. Trump spent the day out of public view but vowed not to concede. His team selected David Bossie, a longtime political adviser, to lead the effort to challenge the results in several states.
The balance of power in the Senate is 48 to 48, with the vice president able to break a tie. Control of the Senate may not be determined until January, since both Georgia Senate elections are likely to go to a runoff.
Find results for all races in the CBS News Election Center, and updates from key states here: