On Saturday, November 7th, as ballot counting in key states neared completion, Joe Biden was declared the 46th president-elect of the United States, along with vice president-elect Kamala Harris. Biden surpassed 270 electoral votes after winning Pennsylvania, a key swing state in this presidential race. According to The New York Times, Biden now leads in Pennsylvania by  45,657 votes with 98% of the votes reported. Biden had previously been trailing President Donald Trump in this state; however, the delayed mail-in ballot results favored Biden, giving him a late lead. In addition to Pennsylvania, Joe Biden was able to flip Wisconsin and Michigan, which went to Trump in the last election.

In a deeply divided country, the Biden/Harris ticket defeated the incumbent Donald Trump, which is the first time an incumbent has been defeated since President George H.W. Bush in 1992. Another historic aspect of the election is that Kamala Harris is the first woman, first Black, and first South Asian vice president. During her speech on Saturday, dressed in suffragette white, she emphasized this historic victory by highlighting that, “…I’m thinking about her [Harris’s mother] and about the generations of women—Black Women. Asian, White, Latina, and Native American women throughout our nation’s history who have paved the way for this moment tonight.”

Celebrations broke out across the country after Biden’s win was announced. People filled the streets in places such as New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. out of excitement for a new chapter in America’s leadership. People popped champagne bottles, cheered, and honked their horns to commemorate this milestone victory. However, not all people who took to the streets were pleased with Biden’s win. Supporters of President Trump congregated in cities and state capitals across the country to protest the election results.

The news of the 2020 election was not only celebrated nationally but also internationally as many world leaders congratulated Biden and Harris on their victory. Justin Trudeau, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Micheál Martin, Moon Jae-in, and Narendra Modi were among the world leaders who tweeted their good wishes. 

Upon their inauguration in January, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will inherit the aftermath of a turbulent 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the American people have spoken, and they chose Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.