US election: Joe Biden can win it all in Nevada but there’s a catch

Joe Biden has increased his lead in Nevada to more than 11,000 in a key move that could land him the White House.

Democrat Joe Biden has edged ahead in Nevada by more than 11,000 votes in a state that could deliver him the White House, CNN reports.

Biden increased his lead to more than 11,000 votes from around 7,600 on Wednesday.

Unofficial election results from the state show Biden leading with 49.5 per cent of the vote compared to 48.5 per cent for Trump.

If Biden is able to hold Arizona and win Nevada, he will be the next President.

Latest figures also show he is closing the gap in Georgia and Pennsylvania, neither of which have been called for either candidate yet.

Mail-in ballots in Nevada are expected to favour Mr Biden.

Las Vegas, which traditionally leans towards the Democrats, helped Hillary Clinton secure a win in Nevada in 2016. She had 52 per cent of the vote in Las Vegas, more than in any other area in Nevada.

RELATED: Follow the live count here

If Mr Biden wins big in Las Vegas, he could secure the six Electoral College votes needed to get to that magical number — 270. But there’s a catch.

Let’s go back a step.

According to several live counts, Mr Biden has 264 Electoral College votes as of Thursday morning. Both Fox News and the Associated Press have called Arizona for Mr Biden, but several others say it is still too close to call.

CNN and The New York Times are among outlets who have not yet allocated the 11 Electoral College votes to the Democrats. Their counts have Mr Biden leading 253 to 214 as of Thursday morning in Nevada.

Arizona has tightened a bit, thanks to 62,000 votes from Maricopa County that trimmed the Biden camp’s lead to just under 70,000 votes with 88 per cent of the vote counted.

CNN reports that if the President keeps performing as he is in Arizona, he will “at least meet Biden’s lead”.

But if Mr Biden hangs on in Arizona and gets the results he expects in Nevada, it is all over. It goes without saying that we need to see how the votes fall in.

You might recall Nevada was the setting for one of Mr Trump’s more bizarre rallies of the campaign.

It was there in September that the crowd called for former president Barack Obama to be “locked up”, echoing Mr Trump’s claim that his predecessor illegally “spied” on his campaign.

Controversy loomed over the rally, which was held indoors despite the continuing threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Trump started the event with one of his current favourite jokes, quipping that he might seek a third term in four years if he wins the upcoming election.

“Fifty-one days from now, we’re going to win Nevada, and we’re going to win four more years in the White House. And after we win four more years, we’ll ask for maybe another four or so,” Mr Trump said, sparking huge cheers from the crowd.

Nevada will not deliver its next dump of counted votes until midday local time. Each state operates differently, and election officials there made it clear early that they will not be rushed.