WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President-elect Joe Biden has won the state of Georgia, the first Democratic candidate to do so since 1992.
The win solidifies Biden’s victory, giving him a total of 306 votes in the electoral college, the system the US uses to choose its president.
President Donald Trump is projected to win North Carolina, reaching 232 votes.
Trump, who has refused to concede, has for the first time alluded to a possible new administration in January.
Looking subdued, the president stopped short of conceding the race and did not mention Biden by name in his first official appearance since the election during a briefing of his coronavirus task force.
“This administration will not be going to a lockdown,” Trump said at the White House Rose Garden, as the country faces growing outbreaks of the virus. “Hopefully… whatever happens in the future – who knows which administration will be. I guess time will tell.”
The president did not take questions from reporters. Pressure is growing on Trump, a Republican, to acknowledge Biden’s victory and help prepare the transition from one administration to another.
Georgia and North Carolina were the last states to be called in the race for the White House. Biden’s electoral votes equal the tally Trump achieved in his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. At the time Trump referred to it as “a landslide”.
A manual recount was carried out in Georgia because of the narrow margin between the two candidates, but the Biden team said they did not expect it to change the results there.
Trump has launched a flurry of legal challenges in key states and levelled unsubstantiated allegations of widespread electoral fraud. His team dropped a lawsuit in Arizona on Friday after it became clear his rival’s lead was unassailable.
Biden’s victory has not yet been made official, and his transition team have not been given access to federal agencies and funding needed to ensure a smooth transition of power.
The Trump administration’s denial of access to classified security briefings could affect Biden’s ability to govern, Biden spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
“You need real-time information to deal with crises of the moment,” she said, highlighting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s imperative that our team and our experts have that access”.
Earlier, a group of more than 150 former national security officials warned that delaying the transition posed “a serious risk to national security”.
In a letter, they urged the General Services Administration – the government agency tasked with beginning the transition process – to officially recognise Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris so that they could access “pressing national security issues”.
Meanwhile, a small but growing number of Republicans are also backing calls for President-elect Biden to be given daily intelligence briefings.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, was among those saying Biden should start receiving the secret presidential memo, as is usual with incoming presidents. — NNN-AGENCIES