Democratic candidate Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, after days of ballot counting and uncertainty. Biden received more votes in the 2020 election than any other presidential candidate in the country’s history.
Biden, 77, defeated President Donald Trump after he was projected to win Pennsylvania and secured 290 votes from the Electoral College, according to the Associated Press. He is the oldest president-elect in American history.
Senator Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, will be the first woman and the first woman of color to take on the role of vice president.
Biden has been vying for the presidency for decades, and after his third attempt to take on the position, he has been elected in the midst of a surge of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and a national movement calling for racial justice. Biden spoke Saturday night at a drive-in rally for supporters in Wilmington, Del., his home state, to accept the win.
“I’m humbled by the trust and confidence you’ve placed in me,” Biden said to supporters who honked in response.
After Trump’s repeated tendencies to sow division throughout his presidency, Biden called for unity among Americans in his address. He also addressed Trump supporters directly at times, promising to be a president for all.
“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify and doesn’t see red states and blue states, but only sees the United States,” he said.
Acknowledging the pandemic and the economic crisis within the country, Biden pledged to prioritize the COVID-19 pandemic and draft a plan to be put in place when he takes office in January.
“That plan will be built on a bedrock of science,” Biden said. “It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy and concern. I will spare no effort — or commitment — to turn this pandemic around.”
Biden won the popular vote with more than 74 million votes, while Trump clocked in at about 70 million votes. While the Associated Press and other news organizations called the election in favor of Biden Saturday, Trump said he and his team will continue to seek out lawsuits to challenge the results. Trump is the first incumbent president to lose a re-election bid since 1992 when George H.W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton.
During her acceptance speech Saturday night, Harris thanked the women who came before her and addressed the women who will come after her.
“But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last,” Harris said. “Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
While Biden won the presidency, Republicans will likely remain in control of the Senate and several Democratic candidates lost their seats in the House.
Cities around the country erupted in celebrations on Saturday. People cheered and danced into the night, as cars honked their horns and music played.
