Biden takes lead in key state of Pennsylvania, reports US media

Democrat Joe Biden has taken the lead in key battleground state Pennsylvania, where a victory for the former vice-president would push him past the threshold of electoral votes needed to win the White House, US media said Thursday.

More ballots are yet to be counted, but shortly before 11am local time (1400 GMT), CNN and The New York Times reported that Biden had moved ahead of incumbent President Donald Trump by more than 5,500 votes.

Biden currently has at least 253 electoral votes, according to most networks. The magic number is 270. If he wins Pennsylvania – a state won by Trump in 2016 – and its 20 electoral votes, he would pass that threshold.

US networks have said so far the race is still too close to call. 

Biden is also currently in the lead in key states Arizona, Georgia and Nevada. Fox News and the Associated Press have already called Arizona in Biden's favor, but other US media have said the race is still too close to call.

Trump has amassed 214 electoral votes so far, with his path to victory narrowing. The Republican incumbent has made unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud.

The president's campaign team said Friday it still believes it can prevail in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona.

“This election is not over,” Matt Morgan, the Trump campaign’s general counsel, said in a statement. “The false projection of Joe Biden as the winner is based on results in four states that are far from final,” it read.

Meanwhile, Decision Desk HQ, a political forecasting firm, projects that Biden has won the presidency after calling Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes for the former vice president.

No television network has called the race yet, nor has the Associated Press. B

There are 163,500 mail-in ballots yet to be counted in Pennsylvania, according to data from its state department website. Many are concentrated in Democratic-leaning areas, according to the data.

– TIMES/AFP/BLOOMBERG