US election 2020: live results as America elects Donald Trump or Joe Biden
Joe Biden’s team slammed Donald Trump’s threat to try to stop the election vote, saying its legal team was ready to prevent such an ‘unprecedented’ act.
- Biden: We’re on track to win
- Candidates both have paths to victory
- Trump now favourite for bookies
- Trump team ‘confident’
Joe Biden says he’s on track to win, but President Donald Trump says the Democrats are trying to “steal’’ the election. Meanwhile, while Mr Trump is in pole position, Mr Biden’s hopes are still alive. The presidential candidates will need 270 electoral college votes to win.
This live blog of election day is now closed. For the latest counting, follow The Australian’s rolling coverage here.
Richard Ferguson 12am: Democrats win House; Senate in play
US President Donald Trump and the Republicans have failed to win back the House of Representatives, but look set to maintain control of the Senate.
Fox News projected on Wednesday (Australian eastern time) that Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi would keep her majority, setting more conflict if Mr Trump is re-elected.
But the Republicans are ahead in key Senate races in Iowa, North Carolina and Maine, which would severely cap the ambitions of former vice-president Joe Biden if he ends up winning the electoral college.
Robert Gottliebsen 11.30pm: Aussie punters were in the money
The money vote has been cast. The big money in both the US and Australia is on a clear Joe Biden win in the race to be the 46th president.
But many ordinary Australians have a very different view.
Joe Biden is expected to spend larger amounts than Donald Trump to restore the US economy so while the ballot was in progress US shares rose strongly as investors favoured hard assets.
Sid Maher 11pm: Eleventh-hour hustings help Trump
Donald Trump’s frenzied last-minute political rallies in key states appear to have paid off as the President mowed down early leads opened up by rival Joe Biden in pre-poll ballots before election day.
Condemned as a potential COVID-19 superspreader by political rivals, Mr Trump’s rallies instead conjured a red wave of political momentum that had him on the cusp of another four years in the White House as midnight struck in America. Mr Trump travelled between key swing states including Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Georgia in the final days of the campaign as he sought to whip up momentum ahead of voting day and get his supporters to turn out and vote. The strategy appeared to have worked.
In key states such as Florida, Ohio and Texas, Mr Biden raced to strong leads as early votes were counted only to see them swamped by the army of Trump voters who turned out on polling day.
AFP 10.30pm: Portland protesters burn flags on tense election night
Demonstrators burned US flags and marched through Portland armed with protest songs and assault rifles as a confusing election night unfolded to high tension but without violence in the northwestern city.
The liberal enclave in the state of Oregon had braced for possible armed clashes after months of divisive rallies involving left-wing activists, right-wing militias and federal officers deployed by the Trump administration.
As President Donald Trump claimed he won the US election on Wednesday, despite key states still counting ballots, activists gathered outside the Portland federal courthouse — the epicentre of the northern summer’s fraught anti-racism protests.
“We don’t like either candidate — I shamefully voted for Biden — but if Trump gets another four years people will be mad,” said one 20-year-old protester, who asked to be called “L,” as two American flags were ignited in front of the building.
Many at the courthouse shouted slogans against Mr Trump as well as Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a bogeyman for anti-police protesters who won re-election, while others danced and twerked to loud hip-hop music.
The FBI has warned of the potential for armed clashes in Portland linked to the polls, but there were no signs of election night activity from right-wing groups such as the Proud Boys.
And by the early hours of Wednesday police had not engaged with the protesters, some of whom earlier participated in a peaceful 400-strong Black Lives Matter march around east Portland.
Max Maddison 10pm: Biden takes lead in crucial Wisconsin
Joe Biden has pulled ahead in Wisconsin, as absentee and early ballots continue to heavily favour the Democratic presidential candidate.
The topsy-turvy election took another turn after Mr Biden took a wafer-thin lead in the critical swing state, putting him in the pole position to claim victory.
With over 3.2 million votes counted, President Donald Trump was behind by just 20,000 votes, with early ballots breaking overwhelmingly towards the Democrats.
Peter van Onselen 9.30pm: Defying the odds, but antics a disgrace
Donald Trump’s “victory” speech in the middle of the night was extraordinary. Allegations of voter fraud, false claims that he’d already won an election still up for grabs, signs that if the votes yet to be counted don’t go his way he’ll refuse to leave the White House.
It was one of his most un-presidential speeches — which is saying something.
Let’s be clear: Trump outperformed statistical expectations based on the polls. He also defied the predictions of most commentators. He may win this election.
But claims of voter fraud and arguments that the remaining votes don’t need to be counted in the Midwest states he is ahead in are ridiculous. Which is what the courts will surely find if they are required to issue an adjudication.
Consider for a moment how inconsistent Trump is. He argues one minute that there is no need to count remaining votes in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, yet shortly after that claims that we need to wait for the further votes to be counted before analysts can claim Arizona as a win for Joe Biden. Not that consistently has ever been a hallmark of Trump’s presidency.
Ben Packham 9pm: Push for ANZUS pull-out ‘madness’
Former ambassador to the US Dennis Richardson has warned that some in Australia will push for the US to pull out of the ANZUS alliance if Donald Trump scrapes back into the White House.
But he said such a view would be “madness”, and cautioned Australians to respect the will of the American people.
“Should President Trump be re-elected, some of the commentariat in Australia are going to start to question whether the alliance is still relevant, on the grounds US values will have shifted to such a point that we should be revisiting it,” Mr Richardson said.
“It’s rather odd because if you claim to be committed to democratic values, then you ought to respect a democratic outcome.”
He conceded that many Australians didn’t like Mr Trump, but said many hadn’t liked George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan either.
Mr Richardson said the Coalition and Labor, however, would rightly maintain strong support for the alliance through a second Trump term. “I think both the government and the opposition would remain very strong in respect of the alliance,” he said. “Their time horizon is much greater than four years.”
Chris Kenny 8.30pm: Trust those reporting the world the way it is
Donald Trump keeps proving the so-called political, media and academic elites wrong and, like an old punching clown, they keep popping back up to be knocked down again. They never learn.
That is why whoever wins this presidential contest — and the odds are overwhelmingly in favour of the incumbent — the real winners are mainstream voters and the real losers are the political/media class.
The same dynamic that plays out in the US plays out in this country. The same chasm exists between mainstream values and concerns, and the way the debate is marshalled in most mainstream media.
Max Maddison 8.10pm: Trump bid to stop vote counting ‘outrageous’
Joe Biden’s campaign manager gave a sharp repudiation to Donald Trump’s attempts to stop voting, saying they have legal teams “standing by ready”, as she labels the US President’s threat “outrageous, unprecedented and incorrect”.
Mr Trump branded slow ballot tabulations in battleground states a “fraud” and appeared to threaten to go to the Supreme Court to dispute the counting of postal votes that arrived late.
After Mr Trump’s extraordinary speech to supporters in the White House, Jen O’Malley said they would ensure “every duly cast vote is counted”.
“It was outrageous because it is a naked effort to take away the democratic rights of American Citizens. It was unprecedented because never before in our history has a president of the United States sought to strip Americans of their voice in a national election,” Ms O’Malley said on Tuesday night (AEDT).
“And it was incorrect because it will not happen. The counting will not stop.”
Despite Mr Trump’s early proclamation of victory, several crucial swing states remain up for grabs, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
AFP 7.25pm: Biden wins in Maine
Democrat Joe Biden has won the statewide vote in northeastern Maine, US media projected, with at least three of the four electoral votes up for grabs projected to go in the former vice-president’s column.
The race was called by Fox News and The New York Times. Both have yet to attribute the final electoral vote, which is based on voting in congressional districts, rather than the statewide tally.
AFP 7.15pm: Uber-backed gig worker initiative wins in California
California voters put the brakes on a law stopping ride share firms such as Uber and Lyft from classifying drivers as independent contractors, according to US media.
About 58 per cent of voters backed a proposition that would leave drivers as independent contractors but provide them benefits such as supplemented healthcare coverage, according to local media and the “Yes on Proposition 22” campaign.
“This is a win for drivers across California,” Southern California ride share driver Alfred Porche said.
Max Maddison 7pm: Biden wins Arizona
Joe Biden has won Arizona, picking up its 11 electoral votes, according to The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and other media outlets.
Donald Trump won the key battleground in 2016. Arizona has backed a Democratic presidential candidate only once in the past 72 years.
AFP 6.50pm: Oregon decriminalises hard drugs
Oregon is the first US state to decriminalise hard drugs, including the possession of small amounts of heroin and cocaine, and to legalise access to “magic mushrooms” for therapeutic use.
Some other states, including Arizona and Montana, appeared poised in early results to legalise recreational marijuana in line with a trend sweeping the country in recent years.
A ballot initiative in favour of decriminalising a range of psychedelics was also approved in the nation’s capital, Washington, the fourth jurisdiction to enact the reform.
Votes on those measures came as Americans cast their ballots in the US presidential election.
Under Measure 110, possession of small amounts of illicit drugs in Oregon would be considered a civil violation and more money will be earmarked for addiction treatment and other services for people with addiction disorders.
“This groundbreaking initiative imagines a better way forward — instead of arresting and jailing people for drugs, it will offer help to those who need and want it,” the Drug Policy Alliance said in a statement.
The aim of the measure — backed by the Oregon Nurses Association, the Oregon chapter of the American College of Physicians and the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians — is to keep drug-addicted people out of the criminal justice system and to provide them with treatment.
“Punishing people for drug use and addiction is costly and hasn’t worked. More drug treatment, not punishment, is a better approach,” the groups said in a statement.
Also backing the measure was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, who contributed $US500,000 ($703,000) through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
READ MORE: US election polls have got it wrong again
Max Maddison 6.30pm: Trump claims victory as count continues
Donald Trump says he’s going to the US Supreme Court to stop counting any votes yet to arrive at election centres, labelling the pending results a “major fraud”, and the goal now is to “ensure the integrity of the good of the nation”.
Listing his electoral college victories as “phenomenal”, Mr Trump said he “won’t stand” for the “very sad” people trying to disenfranchise the millions of people who voted for him.
“And all of a sudden everything just stopped. This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election,” Mr Trump told supporters at the White House on Tuesday.
“We did win this election... So our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation, this is a very big moment, this is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner.
“So we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4.00 in the morning and add them to the list, OK?”
He appeared to mean stopping the counting of mail-in ballots which can be legally accepted by state election boards after the election, provided they were sent in time.
Claiming victory in a number of swing states, Mr Trump said he was on the march to victory before voting was stopped.
On the array of swing states that are too close to call, Mr Trump said it was “clear” he had won Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
“Somebody declared that it (Arizona) was a victory — and maybe it will be, I mean, that’s possible, but certainly therefore — there were a lot of votes out there that we could get because we’re now just getting into what they call Trump territory,” he said.
“But most importantly, we’re winning Pennsylvania by a tremendous amount of votes. With 64 per cent of the vote in, it’s going to be almost impossible to catch.”
AFP 6.10pm: Mississippi voters back new flag without Confederate emblem
Voters in Mississippi have approved a new state flag that will feature the magnolia flower, months after the southern state retired its old banner bearing a Confederate battle emblem.
Mississippi’s flag was the last in the US to include a symbol of the Confederacy, a collection of southern states where slavery was legal and which seceded from the union in 1860.
Many African Americans say the flag carries racist connotations, while white southerners argue it is a symbol of Southern heritage.
US media reported on Tuesday that Mississippi voters had backed the flag’s new design, which also will carry the words “In God We Trust.”
The old flag was retired over the northern summer, as the US exploded with the biggest protests in decades against racism and police brutality.
The ongoing movement for racial justice in the US also prompted the removal of statues of Confederate figures, either formally removed by local governments or forcibly toppled by protesters
READ MORE: ‘They’re trying to steal the election’: Trump
David Swan 5.34pm: Twitter flags ‘misleading’ Trump tweet
The social media giant has taken action after the US President claimed Democrats were trying to steal the election. Read the full story here.
5.17pm: They’re trying to steal the election: Trump
President Donald Trump early Wednesday said he expected a “big win” and accused Democrats of trying to “steal” the election after rival Joe Biden predicted victory.
We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
The 2020 election has come down to a few key swing states including the rust belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as Trump heartland in Georgia.
President Trump tweeted not long after Mr Biden got off stage that he is “up big”.
Read the full story here.
Max Maddison 4.45pm: Biden: We feel good about where we are
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has made a bold early call, saying the party is “on track to win this election”, but has urged patience with the result unlikely to be decided tonight.
With the election sitting on a knife’s edge, Mr Biden told his Democrat supporters in Wilmington, Delaware, to “keep the faith”, saying he was confident about a raft of vital swing states, including Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan.
“But we are feeling good. We are feeling good about where we are. We believe the people who has suggested we have already won Arizona. We are confident about Arizona,” Mr Biden said.
“That is a turn around. We also just called it for Minnesota and we are still in a game in Georgia, although that is not what we expected. We are feeling real good about Wisconsin and Michigan.
And, by the way, it is going to take time to count the votes. We are going to win Pennsylvania!”
But Donald Trump says the Democrats are trying to “steal the election’’.
We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
Staff writers 4.43pm: Police, protesters clash in Washington
Police and protesters scuffled at Washington, D.C.'s #BlackLivesMatter Plaza on #ElectionNight as they waited for the #Elections2020 results. More @business: https://t.co/Z3QFHFw2mD pic.twitter.com/Xr4bhl4jIA
— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) November 4, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 4.33pm: How each candidate can win from here
It is looking increasingly unlikely that we will get a result tonight, with a number of states still in play. Here is what each candidate needs to win:
Joe Biden: Currently has 223 electoral college votes. He will need to win Arizona (11), where he is ahead However he will also have to win Wisconsin and Michigan (a total of 26 between them), where he is trailing Donald Trump; and North Carolina, where Mr Trump is leading but very narrowly.
If he doesn’t take Michigan and Wisconsin, he won’t win, even if he takes Pennsylvania and its 20 votes. However in Wisconsin and Michigan the votes currently counted are only in person votes; the mail-in votes won’t be counted until they are all in and they are expected to favour Mr Biden.
Donald Trump: Currently on 174. To win he needs to take Texas (38)., Georgia (16) and North Carolina,(15), where he is only narrowly ahead. He will also need either Wisconsin or Michigan, where he is leading. He may not need Pennsylvania, with its 20 votes.
Agencies 4.27pm: Trump wins bellwether state of Ohio
President Donald Trump has prevailed in the hotly contested Rust Belt state of Ohio — one he seized in 2016 and which is key to his efforts to win reelection over Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
Fox News, NBC News and Associated Press called the Midwestern state— which has 18 electoral votes — for the incumbent.
Observers expect the hotly contested race for the White House to come down to a handful of key battleground states that have yet to be called by two networks. —AFP
Meanwhile, Joe Biden has taken Hawaii.
Staff writers 4.20pm: Biden, Harris to give statement shortly
Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden will shortly make a speech, CNN is reporting.
Richard Ferguson 3.50pm: Republicans fail to recapture House of Representatives
Donald Trump and the Republicans have failed to recapture the US House of Representatives, but are making some important gains in their battle to keep the Senate.
Fox News has called a Democratic victory in the House of Representatives with Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s majority is due to expand by five points.
In the Senate, Republican senators Thom Tillis, Joni Ernst and Susan Collins are currently on track to retain their upper house seats in North Carolina, Iowa and Maine respectively.
The GOP has also won a spot in Alabama with former football coach Tommy Tuberville unseating Democrat Doug Jones.
In good news for Democrats, former astronaut Mike Kelly is projected to beat GOP senator Martha McSally in Arizona and former government John Hickenlooper has unseated Colorado Republican Cory Gardiner.
Staff writers 3.40pm: Why no one’s calling Florida yet
The Associated Press says it is still too early to call Florida, despite Donald Trump leading his rival by almost four points with 98 per cent of the vote counted.
The AP said it was still waiting on more vote counts to come in from south Florida, including Miami-Dade County, the largest county in the state.
Anne Barrowclough 3.38pm: Status quo: Senate defies predictions
Despite predictions to the contrary, the status quo in the Senate appears unchanged, with Republicans still holding a majority.
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who had been expected to lose his seat, held onto it as did John Cornyn in Texas, while Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, who was also under strain, was re-elected to Kentucky for the fourth time.
The Republicans and Democrats each lost one seat, with Alabama senator Doug Jones of the Democrats losing and the Republicans’ Cory Gardner also losing his race.
Incumbents’ races still uncalled include: Republican senators Susan Collins in Maine, Thom Tillis in North Carolina, Martha McSally in Arizona, David Perdue in Georgia, Joni Ernst in Iowa and Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in Michigan.
Agencies 3.22pm: Trans candidates notch up historic wins
Democratic candidates in the US states of Delaware and Vermont made history Tuesday when they became the first openly transgender legislators in their states.
Sarah McBride, 30, became Delaware’s first trans senator, taking 86 percent of the vote in the state’s first Senate district. She is also the first openly trans state senator in the United States and the highest-ranking trans official in the country.
“We did it. We won the general election. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she tweeted Tuesday night.
BREAKING: 26-year-old @TaylorSmallVT just declared victory, making her Vermont’s first transgender state legislator. @VictoryFund has confirmed the win. Read more here: https://t.co/vqgo6ER9iT pic.twitter.com/qoSWkJXlHR
— them. (@them) November 4, 2020
“I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too.” Further north in Vermont, Taylor Small, 26, became the state’s first transgender representative, taking 43 percent and 41 percent of the vote in her two districts.
“5th trans legislator in the nation!” she tweeted.
Their wins come just a few years after Democrat Danica Roem became the first openly trans lawmaker in the US. Roem was elected to Virginia’s state assembly in 2017. — AFP
Greg Sheridan 3.00pm: US election 2020’s biggest loser
At this critical stage of the count the big loser is, like 2016, the polls.
It’s still way too early to tell but so far Trump is well ahead in the popular vote at this stage.
That will change as the California votes come in but still it is unexpected.
At this stage Trump is miles ahead in Florida and well over 90 per cent of the votes are counted. If that result holds then almost every Florida poll has got the state wrong.
It also seems that Trump’s energy at the end of the campaign has had an effect.
This is genuinely a desperately close result, at least at this stage.
Staff writers 2.37pm: Biden pins his hopes on Arizona
With North Carolina and Ohio swinging toward the Republicans and Mr Trump leading in Florida, the Democrats are looking to Arizona to help save them, The Wall Street Journal reports.
With 70 per cent of the vote counted in Arizona — a usually Republican state — Mr Biden is on 53.7 percent of the vote compared with Mr Trump on 45 per cent. That lead is expected to narrow as more in -person votes are counted but the Biden team is hoping he can still hang on to the state.
The WSJ reports that if Mr Biden loses Ohio, North Carolina and Florida, he will be increasingly reliant on Arizona, with its 11 electoral votes, Pennsylvania (20), Michigan (16) and Wisconsin (10).
However Arizona has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since 1996. Mr. Trump won the state in 2016 by more than 3 points.
If Joe Biden turns the Republican stronghold of Arizona blue he will be only the second Democrat to flip the state since 1948.
Mr Biden is leading Mr Trump by 8 points with 75 per cent of the vote counted. this may be due to the growing Latino population and an influx of voters from more liberal areas, CNN reports.
Mr Trump won the state by 3 percentage oints in 2016.
Anne Barrowclough 2.18pm: Senator Lindsay Graham re-elected
Republican senator Lindsay Graham has won a fourth term in South Carolina, despite being expected to lose his seat.
Mr Graham was on the back foot for most of the race, set against Democrat Jaime Harrison who spruiked his own rise from a humble beginning and painted his rival as a hypocrite who was out of touch with South Carolina residents struggling in the pandemic.
But Mr Graham, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, shored up his support among conservative voters, in playing a pivotal role in the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Anne Barrowclough 2.08pm: What we know so far
- Florida is swinging heavily toward the Republicans: with over 90 per cent of the vote counted, Donald Trump is ahead by 51.3 per cent against 47.8 per cent for Mr Biden. the Trump campaign has called a victory in the state while the Biden campaign admits the state is probably lost to them.
- Donald Trump currently has 92 electoral college votes while Joe Biden has 131
- More than 100 million people voted early, nearly two thirds the total number of people who voted in 2016. However this may give us misleading results early on, particularly in Pennsylvania, where counting of mail in votes doesn’t even start until the polls close.
- The crucial battleground states of Ohio and North Carolina are on a knife edge. Ohio, where Joe Biden was leading, has swung toward Donald Trump with 74 per cent of the vote counted, while Mr Biden is just leading in North Carolina.
- Donald Trump is a favourite with bookies to win, with the TAB making him a $1.55 favourite to win and Joe Biden blowing out to $2.40
Anne Barrowclough 1.48pm: Ohio moving away from Biden
Ohio is now moving away from Joe Biden, giving Donald Trump a narrow lead of .07 per cent with 70 per cent of the vote counted.
The Republican Party has never won the presidency without Ohio and its 18 electoral college votes.
David Rogers 1.45pm: AUD plunging on positive signs for Trump
AUD/USD is plunging along with global risk assets as markets start to doubt their assumption of a decisive win by Democrats leading to major US fiscal stimulus and a lower dollar
AUD/USD dived 1.2pc to an intraday low of 0.7067 after surging 0.8pc to a 3- week high of 0.7222.
In doing so it has fallen back below resistance from a major descending triangle pattern, near 0.7130, and has also fallen back below the 100-day moving average at 0.7118.
After what looks like a “false break” of resistance, the descending triangle pattern remains in play.
The target, on a decisive break of the horizontal support line at 0.7000, would be 0.6590.
Conversely, if it were to break today’s high, the target would be 0.7555.
The impending start of QE in Australia has seen the AU-US 10-year bond yield gap turn negative for the first time since March, although the gap is narrowing as US bond yields plunge today.
AUD/USD last 0.7066.
Daniel Sankey 1.29pm: Trump now firm favourite with bookies
Donald Trump is now a firm favourite with the bookies to win the 2020 US Election.
When voting closed on the east coast this morning (AEDT), the TAB had made Trump a $2.65 outsider to return to the White House, with Biden firming from $1.60 into $1.48 to become the next US President.
But just three hours later, Trump had reclaimed favouritism with the TAB, firming into $1.55 favourite by 1.25pm with Biden blowing out to $2.40
By 2.05pm, the TAB had shortened Trump into an almost unbackable $1.22 favourite, with Joe Biden out to $4.
Anne Barrowclough 1.23pm: Don’t be fooled by Pennsylvania early count
At first glance, Pennsylvania — with 20 electoral college votes — looks very good news for Joe Biden, with the former vice president way ahead of Donald Trump, at 65 per cent against his rival on 35.1 per cent. But don’t be fooled; only 14 per cent of the votes have been counted, and it may be days yet before we know the final result.
Unlike most states, Pennsylvania can’t start counting mail-in votes until after the polling stations closed and electoral officers have warned they may not know the total number until Friday.
Anne Barrowclough 1.03pm: Biden agrees Florida likely lost
The Biden campaign has acknowledged that Florida is probably lost to the former vice president, CNN reports. However Mr Biden’s advisers said the state was unique and not the start of a trend. Instead, they say they’re optimistic about North Carolina, where Mr Biden has a four point lead over his rival, with 75 per cent of the vote counted.
However a win for Mr Trump in Florida indicates the race will be close, with no landslide for either candidate.
But for Biden world, a Trump Florida win ensures one thing: This race will be dramatically close and they do not foresee any type of landslide tonight.
Agencies 12.56pm: Trump campaign says he’s won Florida
President Donald Trump’s campaign claimed victory Tuesday in the must-win state of Florida, though US media said that race was still too close to call, AFP reports.
The president’s campaign made the claim in a tweet as ballots were still being counted in the state that holds 29 state-by-state Electoral College votes.
President @realDonaldTrump wins #Florida!
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) November 4, 2020
Source: @DecisionDeskHQ pic.twitter.com/JgxwA42flr
The New York Times put the president’s chances of winning Florida at over 95 percent.
Trump narrowly beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in Florida in 2016 and opinion polls have shown a dead heat this year.
Anne Barrowclough 12.49pm: Lessons from Ohio good news for Biden
Ohio is still swinging toward Joe Biden; with just over half of the vote counted, Mr Biden is leading 55 per cent to Mr Trump on 44 per cent.
Mr Biden is ahead in cities and suburbs of the state, while Mr Trump is ahead in rural areas. While these rural regions could still throw the vote Mr Trump’s way, the fact that Mr Biden is competitive in this crucial state is a “source of angst,” says CNN analyst John King. “Win or lose in Ohio, there is a lesson in this: that Joe Biden is more competitive than Hillary Clinton in these industrial states,” Mr King said. “No matter how this ends, this tells you this is a different campaign than we had four years ago.”
Meanwhile, Mr Trump is closing in in Texas.
Hard to imagine Biden could take Texas but it’s more competitive than expected right now
— cameron stewart (@camstewarttheoz) November 4, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 12.42pm: Biden looking strong in North Carolina
North Carolina is turning blue; with nearly 70 per cent of the vote counted, Mr Biden has nearly 53 per cent of the vote compared with Mr Trump on 46 per cent..
Biden 8 pts ahead in Nth Carolina with 62 % counted.
— Jack the Insider (@JacktheInsider) November 4, 2020
In 2016 Donald Trump won North Carolina by 3.66 per cent of the vote . The state is worth 15 electoral votes.
Anne Barrowclough 12.21pm: McConnell re-elected in Kentucky
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has won re-election in Kentucky, according to the Associated Press.
The Republican senator defeated Democratic challenger Amy McGrath who was regarded as a long shot in the red state.
AP called the race when about 60 per cent of the expected vote total was counted, with Mr McConnell ahead 55 per cent to 41 per cent.
Mr McConnell had argued that Ms McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, was too liberal for Kentucky.
Anne Barrowclough 12.12pm: Florida swinging back to Trump, Texas veers blue
Florida, with 83 per cent of the vote counted is now swinging toward Donald Trump, who is narrowly ahead. But the state is on a knife edge with just a handful of votes between the rivals.
But Texas, which has just closed, is swinging heavily toward Mr Biden with 16.6 per cent of the vote counted; 53.5 per cent for Mr Biden to Mr Trump’s 45.2 per cent. However these counts, like those in Florida, are from mail in ballots, so the result may swing toward Mr Trump as in person votes are counted.
Anne Barrowclough 12.04pm: Ohio swinging blue for Biden
Ohio, with 18 electoral votes, is swinging toward Joe Biden. With nearly quarter of the vote counted, Mr Biden has 61.2 per cent of the vote against Mr Trump’s 37.7 per cent. No candidate has won the presidency without the state since 1964.
Anne Barrowclough 11.44am: Biden narrowly ahead in Florida
With around 67 per cent of the vote counted in Florida, Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump by a narrow margin: around 50.2 per cent as against Mr Trump’s 48.9 per cent.
However this was expected, as the state began posting mail-in votes as soon as the polls closed. As inperson votes are counted, Mr Trump is expected to see more votes swinging to him.
The Biden camp will be happy enough where Florida is at. It’s jumping around but close. Trump needs it, Biden does not.
— Peter van Onselen (@vanOnselenP) November 4, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 11.36am: Eyes turn to Ohio, North Carolina
Polls in Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia are about to close.
Ohio and North Carolina are the ones to watch here. Ohio has voted for the winning candidate in all but two elections since 1896. Mr Trump won the state in 2016 by 8.1 per cent.
North Carolina is normally a red state, supporting only two Democrats over the last 50 years. Mr Trump won the state in 2016 by 3.66 per cent of the vote, but the state has become a battleground state with Joe Biden’s support rising here.
Caroline Overington 11.20am: Don’t panic, at day’s end US flag will still fly
So, here we are, it’s election day, with both sides seeing only what they want to see.
On Sky and Fox, it’s all, “Trump’s gaining! We’ve got a last minute surge!”
And over The New York Times, it’s: “Nobody panic, Biden’s still comfortably in front.”
At the same time, you’ve got: “Trump’s polling is down, but that doesn’t mean anything because the polls are often wrong!’
And, same-same, but different: “Biden’s up in the polls, but that doesn’t mean anything because the polls are often wrong!”
In truth, both sides are in these last hours daring to hope, but not yet ready to believe.
READ Caroline Overington’s full commentary here
Anne Barrowclough 11.09am: Trump takes Kentucky, Biden wins Vermont
As expected, Donald Trump has won Kentucky with eight electoral votes.
Joe Biden has won Vermont, with three electoral college votes.
Still a long way to go, but Trump really needs to win Florida to be on track to remain president. Biden does not. Not encouraging for Trump so far. #Election2020 #ElectionNight
— Troy Bramston (@TroyBramston) November 4, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 10.59am: Polls set to close in battleground Georgia
Polls will soon close in Georgia, where the race is very tight, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and the remaining counties in Kentucky and Indiana.
The result in the normally reliably Republican Georgia could give us an early idea of how the vote is going, with Joe Biden polling ahead of Donald Trump here. If the state flips blue, that wil be bad news for Donald Trump.
Mr Biden is winning the battle for suburban women in Georgia, according to a survey conducted for The Wall Street Journal and AP
About 6 in 10 suburban women voted for Mr Biden compared with slightly fewer than 4 in 10 for Donald Trump, the WSJ reports.
The survey also shows Mr Biden beating Mr Trump among suburban men, though by a smaller margin.
Mr Biden was also performing well with black and Latino voters in Georgia, the survey suggested. About 9 in 10 black voters and about 6 in 10 Latino voters backed him. Mr. Trump’s strongest support was coming from small towns and rural areas of the state, with voters in those areas choosing him over Mr Biden by double-digit margins.
Three-quarters of white voters without a college degree supported the president. More than 6 in 10 women with a college degree backed Mr Biden.
The result in Florida, with 29 electoral college votes, will also be watched closely. The state has voted for the winning candidate in all but two of the US elections since 1924 and every one since 1996.
Results from the state’s mail-in ballots are expected early, with some polling stations open for another hour.
Polls have also closed in Vermont and eastern Florida.
Cameron Stewart 10.53am: Protesters and Christians: Festive crowd outside White House
Outside the heavily barricaded White House early on election night, the mood was semi-festive. Professional protesters mingled with Christians waving Save Jesus signs as well as mums and dads who came down just to feel the vibe.
Rollerbladers weaved through the crowd as dozens of journalists from around the world looked for people to interview.
On the recently renamed Black Lives Matter Boulevard shop fronts are boarded up, as they are throughout much of downtown Washington in case of trouble later tonight or in the days ahead.
Almost everyone who gathered outside the White House in this heavily Democrat city were Biden supporters. The lone Trump supporter was an African American man in a Make America Great Again sweatshirt yelling out “My immune system is too strong for Covid-19.’
Nearby, mother Susan Sarraf was walking with her two young children Saha 4 and Timor 6. “I brought them to the White House because I want them to witness history, to witness a change,’ she says.
“Everything Trump has done so far has been horrible, the way he treats other people. I think Biden will bring calm and peace, or at least a change to the United States.’ she tells me.
Washington resident Ed Myers, wearing a ‘Dump Trump’ facemark said he felt so strongly about the election that he wanted to come to the White House to make a point about democracy.
“I came here to demonstrate and support the right of the people to vote and to have their votes counted,’ he says. This is the most important election I’ve been voted in. the president has done a terrible job with Covid and with rights for immigrants and people of colour.’
“Trump just doesn’t represent me at all. This is not the image of our country that I want,’ he said.
Mahlet Mesfin, an African American wearing a Biden-Harris sweatshirt, said she walked down to the White House because she “wanted to come and and feel the mood of the people, feel the energy, hopefully for change.’
“I come out for all the protests because I think it’s a time for change in America,’ she says.
Standing by the large fence which is plastered with anti-Trump posters and Black Lives Matter signs, grocery worker Ben Nadler, stands with a handwritten sign ‘Don’t let Trump Brainwash You. “People should know that Donald Trump is lying to them about Covid-19,’ he says. “Trump says it is going away but it isn’t. He is lying to us every day. It’s time for him to go.’
Anne Barrowclough 10.42am: Early count may be misleading
Thanks in part to the record number of early votes, initial results today may be misleading. Democrats are more likely to have voted early, while Republicans are known to prefer voting in person. This may mean that early exit polls will show a better result for Donald Trump. This is particularly important in such key battleground states as Pennsylvania, where mail in voting won’t even begin until polls close.
But the FiveThirtyEight website warns that one of Florida’s bluest counties will post their mail-in ballots as soon as polls close at 11am AEDT, making early results for Florida look better for Mr Biden until a possible “red shift” as in-person votes are counted.
READ MORE: Democracy is tearing us apart
David Rogers 10.30am: US futures surge, ASX dips
Australian stocks opened slightly lower after global markets surged while Americans turned out to vote.
Wall Street rose as millions of Americans headed to the polls, setting markets up for a second consecutive session of strong gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.1 per cent while the S&P 500 gained 1.8 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.9 per cent. After losing 5.6 per cent last week, the S&P 500 gained 1.2 per cent Monday.
Historically, stocks have fared well on Election Day. Ahead of Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent on average on the nine days from 1984 to 2016 that Americans went to the polls to elect a president. The index climbed on seven of those occasions.
FOLLOW live ASX updates at Trading Day here
Anne Barrowclough 10.23am: Trump team more confident than this time in 2016
The Trump campaign projected confidence in a call with reporters late Tuesday afternoon US time, saying they see strong turnout around the country, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Everybody on the Trump Team – the president included – feels better and more confident about our positioning in 2020 than we did at this exact moment in 2016,” said senior campaign adviser Jason Miller.
Campaign manager Bill Stepien said they saw a tight race, but argued that Republican Election Day turnout will offset Democratic early voting. He said they feel “really, really good” about Florida and said they like what they are seeing in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona.
“They left a ton of votes on the table,” he said of Democrats.
Anne Barrowclough 10.19am: Exit polls point to top two issues for voters
Early exit polls show that economy and the coronavirus are the two two issues for voters.
A third say the economy was the most important issue and 18 per cent named the coronavirus pandemic as the key issue, according to preliminary data from Edison Research.
Third on the list was racial equality, named by two in 10 as the top issue.
Nearly three quarters of voters said their candidate’s positions on the issues were more important than their personality; Trump supporters said the issues were more important by a margin of five to one while Biden supporters put the margin at two to one.
Anne Barrowclough 10.05am: Indiana, Kentucky polls now closed
In Indiana and Kentucky the first physical polls of the 2020 US election have closed.
Both states are Republican strongholds.
The bulk of states will close their polls and start their counts between 12pm and 1pm AEDT.
Anne Barrowclough 9.55am: Trump to watch results from White House with family
Donald Trump will watch the election results in the East Wing of the White House with senior aides and his family.
Communications director Alyssa Farah told Fox TV: “He’s excited. We’ve put in the work, we’ve not taken any vote for granted, and we’re ready to see these results. He’s in a great mood.”
Ms Farah said the Trump team expected a delay in the count thanks to mail-in votes. “ Our concern from the outset has been mass mail-in voting when our country just hasn’t dealt with this level of it previously,” she said.. “We are confident that we’re going to get to the end game, but we could anticipate some delays, especially in Pennsylvania.”
Angelica Snowden 9.45am: Biden insider ‘cautiously optimistic’
A former senior adviser to Joe Biden says he is “cautiously” optimistic the democratic presidential nominee will secure a four year term in the White House.
Moe Vela said Mr Biden would lead with “empathy” and a “spirit of inclusion” if he wins the election.
“I’m battling political PTSD from 2016,” Mr Vela told the ABC.
“I feel like the Biden campaign left it all on the field as we say here in sports jargon and I feel like the American people are going to actually choose kindness and goodness and hope over the fear and the hatred and the division,” he said.
Mr Vela, a Texan, said he hoped the state would “turn blue” today but he was not “entirely convinced”.
“I think it’s going to be neck and neck and I’m not entirely convinced that this is the election cycle that we go back to Texas being blue,” he said.
“But if we don’t, it’s going to be razor thin and I can almost bet you that the next cycle it will go blue.”
Mr Vela said a voter “pattern” would be apparent by midnight tonight if there is no final election result.
“I really do think by midnight we’ll see a clear and convincing pattern of what the American people are saying to all of us here in the United States and around the world.”
Anne Barrowclough 9.45am: When the first results will flow
The first polls will be closing at 10am (AEDT), with Indiana and Kentucky first to close, followed by George at 10.30am. Indiana is expected to show a steady flow of results between 10 and 10.30 with the other states also reporting results fairly quickly.
Indiana and Kentucky are reliably Republican but Georgia is on the edge. If it goes blue, that will be a big blow to Donald Trump.
The next important states will be North Carolina — delayed slightly from 10.30am until 11.15 am; Florida between 10am and 11am and the western state of Arizons at 12pm.
Because of the record number of early votes — at least 100 million people have already cast their ballot — key battlegrounds including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania will have a longer than usual wait for results. Officials in Pennsylvania, where electoral officers can’t start to count mail-in voting until election day, warn they may not have their results until Friday.
Troy Bramston 9.34am: Trump v Biden: Pathways to 270 winning votes
We may not know the outcome today, but we’ll probably know where it’s headed by midafternoon.
Key congressional races to watch todayhttps://t.co/3m1BGaToYe
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 3, 2020
In assessing the various ways both candidates can win the presidency, it is important to note that Trump won a very narrow election victory in 2016. He lost the popular vote by 2.8 million to Hillary Clinton. It is very unlikely Trump will win the popular vote this year.
Top battleground Senate races to watch todayhttps://t.co/Cn1INeydDX
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 3, 2020
So, Trump’s task is to thread the needle of the Electoral College. Trump won the electoral college by demolishing the Democrats’ so-called “blue wall”: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But he won these three states by a small margin – a combined 77,744 votes.
READ Troy Bramston’s full analysis here
Anne Barrowclough 9.23am: Trump’s inner circle sets up White House war room
Donald Trump’s campaign staff have set up a war room at the Executive Office to monitor election results, the Wall St Journal reports.
The Executive Office, which houses the White House Office and West Wing staff, is often known as the “permanent government”.
Campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said the arrangement had been approved by the White House counsel.
“The war room needed to be in close proximity to the president,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Mr Trump’s critics argued that holding much of the Republican National Convention at the White House violated the spirit, and in some cases the letter, of the Hatch Act, which limits political activity by government officials.
Anne Barrowclough 8.25am: Harris’s ancestral village offers prayers
Residents of Kamala Harris’s ancestral village in southern India have offered special prayers for her victory, the BBC reports.
Thulasendrapuram, a village of 5,000 people, has been watching updates in the US election for the last two months and at least 50 villagers gathered at the Dharmasastha temple this morning to pray. A board at the temple entrance also carried a good luck message. The temple is the family deity temple of Ms Harris’s ancestors and she visited it when she was five years old.
Although Ms Harris’s family moved to Chennai city and then to the US, her relatives continued to send donations for the temple’s renovation.
A list of donors on the walls of the temple includes Ms Harris, who donated Rs 5,000 ($124) herself in 2014.
Robert Gottliebsen 8.00am: Smart money on Biden, punters back Trump
The money vote has been cast. The big money in both the US and Australia is on a clear Joe Biden win in the race to be the 46th president.
But many ordinary Australians have a very different view.
Joe Biden is expected to spend larger amounts than Donald Trump to restore the US economy so while the ballot was in progress US shares rose strongly as investors favoured hard assets.
Gold busted through the $US1900 an ounce barrier while 10-year bonds were friendless and the yield jumped to its highest level since June.
A Donald Trump clear win would surprise the share market but would not be a catastrophe.
On the other hand if the “smart money” is wrong and the election ends in a quagmire with no result for weeks, then the share market will fall sharply.
What happens if there is a tie in the electoral college vote? https://t.co/OTOVeotemV
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 3, 2020
In following the “smart money” the place to start is the bookmakers. In Australia they are betting big on Joe Biden.
By contrast, many ordinary Australians have a love affair with Donald Trump and thousands upon thousands of them have “put their money where their mouth is” and gambled in the vicinity of $75 million on Donald Trump becoming a 46th president of the US.
READ Robert’s full article here
Anne Barrowclough 7.50am: Hockey: Trump will run in 2024
Donald Trump will almost certainly run for president again in 2024 if he loses the election today, says Joe Hockey.
The former Australian ambassador to Washington said Mr Trump would point out that “he’s younger than Biden was when he won in 2020.”
Mr Hockey said the president would remain one of the most powerful people in the world regardless of whether he wins or loses.
“He will be immensely powerful,” he said. “He has taken control of the Republican party and redefined conservatism.”
READ MORE: How Trump has changed the world
Anne Barrowclough 7.35am: FBI probing robo calls urging people to stay home
The FBI is investigating reports of robo calls urging people to stay at home that have emerged on election day.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office was actively investigating reports of phone calls to residents.
“Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy,” she said in a statement. “Attempts to hinder voters from exercising their right to cast their ballots are disheartening, disturbing, and wrong. What’s more is that it is illegal, and it will not be tolerated.”
Getting reports of multiple robocalls going to Flint residents that, due to long lines, they should vote tomorrow.
— Dana Nessel (@dananessel) November 3, 2020
Obviously this is FALSE and an effort to suppress the vote. No long lines and today is the last day to vote. Don’t believe the lies! Have your voice heard! RT PLS.
Dana Nessel, the Attorney-General for Michigan, said she had also received reports of robocalls advising residents to vote tomorrow because of long queues.
Ms Nessel also said people had been wrongly told that voters would be arrested at the polls over outstanding warrants.
Just a reminder to those receiving misinformation-law enforcement will NOT arrest voters at the polls for outstanding warrants. No one should be concerned about the police while voting unless you are harassing voters or causing a disturbance. Voting is safe, secure & easy! #Vote
— Dana Nessel (@dananessel) November 3, 2020
“No one should be concerned about the police .. unless you are harassing voters or causing a disturbance,” she tweeted.
Anne Barrowclough 6.50am: North Carolina results delayed
North Carolina results will be delayed today after voting hours were extended at a number of voting districts. Four of the polling stations opened late because of technical glitches, which means initial results will be delayed from 10.30am (AEDT) until 11.15am.
Meanwhile in Texas, queues at polling stations are unusually thin, with millions of people having already voted - more than the entirety of the 2016 ballot.
Staff writers 6.40am: ‘Certain lines you won’t cross’
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris spent election day in Michigan before joining Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware to wait on results.
Ms Harris told reporters she would be reminding supporters that Michigan, which Mr Trump narrowly won four years ago, could decide the outcome of the election.
“We want to remind everybody obviously that the polls close at 8 o’clock tonight and it’s important that everyone votes, and of course that the path to the White House and the path to determining who will be the next President of the United States, without question, runs through Michigan,” Ms Harris said.
Americans should have faith in the electoral process, she added.
“Have faith in the American people. I do strongly believe that we, whoever we vote for, will defend the integrity of our democracy and a peaceful transfer of power, and that there are certain lines that whoever you vote for, that we just won’t cross,” Ms Harris said.
Asked about her confidence in the campaign’s path to victory, she said: “Listen, the day ain’t over. Ask me after the polls close, maybe I’ll have a better idea but right now I’m just here to remind people to vote because the election is still happening right now. It’s not over.”
READ MORE: Voting habits may change colour of unfolding events
Agencies 6.25am: Trump: Winning is easy, losing never is
Donald Trump has claimed he hasn’t written either an acceptance or a concession speech as the hours tick down to poll closing.
In a visit to Republican National Committee offices in Arlington, Virginia, Mr Trump was asked if he had prepared a speech and said that while he expected to win, he could lose
“I think we’re going to have a great night, but it’s politics and it’s elections and you never know,” Mr Trump said.
“You know, winning is easy,” he said.
“Losing is never easy - not for me it’s not.”
More than 100 staffers, almost all wearing masks, lined up against the back wall of the operations center to hear from their candidate. Some masks were emblazoned with “Trump” and “MAGA” for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.
Mr Trump also used the visit to attack again the decision to allow ballots to be counted after election day, saying the country was “entitled” to know who won on the day of the vote.
“You have to have a date, and the date happens to be November 3,” he told campaign workers.
“And we should be entitled to know who won on November 3.”
Mr Trump was referring mainly to his disagreement with a US Supreme Court refusal to intervene in a decision allowing Pennsylvania to continue to count mailed ballots received up to three days after the election.
The move was made due to logistic complications as the country copes with the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a flood of mailed ballots.
Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state, and both Mr Trump and Joe Biden have repeatedly campaigned there in recent days.
“You can’t have these things delayed for many days and maybe weeks,” Mr Trump said.
“You can’t do that. The whole world is waiting. This country is waiting. But the whole world is waiting.”
READ MORE: Will election make things better or worse?
Cameron Stewart 5.30am: Americans cast final votes
Americans are casting their final votes, after a record 100 million sent in their ballots early. In some states such as Maine and Texas, the early votes have surpassed their entire ballot of 2016.
The polls favour a Biden victory but they were wrong in predicting Donald Trump’s victory against Hillary Clinton in 2016, so many wonder if they will be wrong again. Could history repeat itself, or will the former Vice President make Mr Trump the first one-term president since George HW Bush in 1992?
The contest follows a bitterly fought election campaign where both Mr Trump and Mr Biden attacked each other’s records and integrity amid a deadly coronavirus pandemic and a crushed economy.
Mr Biden campaigned heavily on the president’s mismanagement of the pandemic which has killed more than 230,000 Americans and sent the economy into recession.
He also focused his campaign on Mr Trump’s divisive leadership style, in effect making the election a referendum on the president.
Mr Trump campaigned on warnings that Mr Biden’s agenda would deliver a big taxing, big spending socialist-style government which would erode American freedoms and values.
The president accused Mr Biden of being a “corrupt” politician who had reaped millions from dodgy business dealings involving his son Hunter Biden.
Mr Trump repeatedly warned that the election could be marred by fraud with the massive mail-in vote and court rulings that allowed mail ballots in some states to be counted several days after the election.
The president has said he would be “going in with our lawyers” to challenge any rules that could lead to voter fraud.
The result comes after starkly contrasting election campaigns by both candidates.
Mr Trump held back-to-back rallies across the country, each packed with thousands of supporters as he tried to whip up the same enthusiasm from his base that saw him defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
By contrast, Mr Biden ran a low key campaign with events attended by only small numbers of people who were socially distanced to protect against the coronavirus.
The president chided Mr Biden’s campaign strategy, saying he was unable to attract a crowd and that he campaigned for long periods in the basement of his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Mr Biden attacked Mr Trump for being a reckless ‘super-spreader’ on the campaign trail by holding large crowded rallies during a pandemic and dismissing the importance of masks.
READ MORE: The divided states of America
Cameron Stewart 5.15am: Biden visits childhood home
Earlier today Mr Biden visited his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He took his granddaughters along with him and went into the house which is now owned By Anne Kearns.
When Mr Biden was asked by a reporter what he was thinking about, he replied: “I’m thinking about my mom. Grandfather Finnegan had this home for years. Then Mrs Kearns bought it from him and has owned it — there’s only been two families here — for I don’t know how many years now. So they had me sign years ago, up on the third floor … they had me sign my name. I just signed behind a picture in the living room.”
In September, I also visited Mr Biden’s childhood home in North Washington Avenue, Scranton. I spoke with Anne Kearns and this is what I wrote: Anne Kearns recalls Biden suddenly arriving outside her home in July – along with a large contingent of media – to visit the house he grew up in. “He yelled out ‘I love you Anne,’ and I replied ‘I love you more Joe,’” Kearns tells me.
Kearns, now 85, still lives in the modest home she and her husband bought off the Biden family in 1961.
Her late husband asked her never to sell the house, telling her that “Joe Biden is going to be something one day.”
Kearns has a photo in her hallway of herself with Mr Biden and says he has visited the home regularly over the years and even invited her to the White House when he was Vice President.
In Mr Biden’s old upstairs bedroom, he has scratched into the wall; “I am home – Joe Biden 9.1.08.”
“He is so nice and everything they say about him is true,” Kearns tells me. “It was such a wonderful reward for him to finally be nominated. He is so well prepared to be president, but is he prepared for Trump? That’s what worries me.”
READ MORE: Late Trump surge in battleground blitz
Luxon runs NZ like a listed company – and he’s getting results
The former Air NZ CEO is applying business principles to the messy world of politics; his ‘management by spreadsheet’ is reshaping NZ’s political and economic landscape.
PM’s claim of US unity ticket on Israel undermined by ceasefire call
Senior US officials have committed only to a ceasefire in Gaza while endorsing IDF operations targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is at odds with Labor’s controversial condolence motion.