U.S Election Projection: Joe Biden Wins Georgia

The president-elect secured Georgia’s 16 electoral votes, adding to his lead over Donald Trump after the election had been decided.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks to supporters early on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware.(Paul Sancya/AP)

Joe Biden has won Georgia, padding his electoral vote lead nearly a week after the presidential race was called.
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Biden bested President Donald Trump by less than half of a percentage point for Georgia's 16 electoral votes in a race projected by multiple networks. Georgia was one of the last states called after The Associated Press on Saturday projected Biden as the winner of the presidency.

The race for Georgia had been watched closely for more than a week, with Biden overtaking Trump's early lead as votes were counted. A large amount of ballots tallied at the end came from counties around Atlanta, including Fulton County, which kept the Biden campaign optimistic. Georgia's secretary of state announced on Wednesday an audit and by-hand recount of the results, which is now underway, according to the AP.
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The Trump campaign last week had filed a lawsuit to require that Chatham County – where Savannah is located – separate late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted, according to Reuters, but it was later dismissed by a judge. Trump has since refused to concede the election.

With the win, the former vice president has clinched a state that hasn't voted for a Democrat since 1992. Trump won Georgia by more than 5 percentage points in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.

Biden had been polling strongly in Georgia prior to Election Day, despite its history of leaning toward GOP presidential candidates. Before former President Bill Clinton's 1992 win, the last Democrat it supported was Jimmy Carter – the incumbent and Georgia native – in 1980. This year, however, recent handicapping labeled the state a toss-up.

Biden campaigned in the Peach State right before the election – a strategy that would have sounded ridiculous for a Democrat so late in recent cycles. He spoke on Oct. 27 in the city of Warm Springs, where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt notably went in search of a cure for his polio, in what was described as a closing argument for voters. Even former President Barack Obama spent time in Atlanta on the eve of the election on behalf of his former running mate. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms – who was previously considered for a spot on the Democratic ticket – published a joint op-ed in Newsweek recently arguing Biden's case for the presidency.

Biden's strong polling in the state was clearly noticed by the Trump campaign, as the president held multiple rallies there in recent weeks, including one days before the election. Trump won Georgia without making a stop there in 2016, the AP reported. But this year, his team was releasing statistics to prove that he is "fighting for Georgia workers and families," according to campaign emails.

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