11-06-2020, 12:15 PM
Quote:Georgia election results: Biden takes lead in count for crucial state for first time with nearly all ballots counted
State has not turned blue since 1992, but would be enough to give Biden the presidency if he can also hold onto Arizona
Joe Biden has taken a dramatic late lead in the vote count for Georgia, having trailed president Donald Trump in the crucial swing state since polls closed on election day.
CNN and MSNBC reported that Mr Biden went ahead by a margin of 917 votes at 4.30am local time
Georgia would provide enough electoral college votes to take the Democrat above the crucial threshold of 270, if he can hold onto his lead in Arizona. Arizona was declared for Mr Biden early on by several networks, but is now being watched closely.
Election officials say more than 99 per cent of the vote has now been counted in Georgia, with both candidates on about 49.4 per cent of the nearly 5 million votes cast in the state.
Mr Trump won Georgia by a sizeable 5 points in 2016, taking 51 per cent to Hillary Clinton’s 46 per cent.
Georgia has been reliably Republican since 1972, except when a southern Democrat was on the ticket – Georgians sided with native son Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980 and Bill Clinton in 1992.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/georgia-election-results-2020-biden-trump-b1635402.html