WILMINGTON, Del. – Joe Biden said in a speech Wednesday that his campaign believes it’s clear that they’re on track to win enough states to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
“I’m not here to declare that we’ve won, but I am here to report that when the count is finished, we believe we'll be the winners,” said the former vice president from Wilmington, Delaware.
Watch his speech below:
Biden’s remarks came around the same time that The Associated Press projected he would win Wisconsin, bringing him to 248 electoral votes as of about 4 p.m. ET. At that same time, President Donald Trump had racked up 214.
“Of all the votes counted, we have won Wisconsin by 20,000 votes, virtually the same margin as when Trump won that state four years ago,” said Biden.
Biden is also leading in Michigan and Nevada, but by slim margins. If he were to claim those two states as well, he would reach the crucial 270-vote threshold.
“In Michigan, we lead by over 35,000 votes and it’s growing,” said Biden. “It’s a substantially bigger margin than when President Trump won Michigan in 2016.”
As for Pennsylvania, The Associated Press still had Trump leading, but Biden had made steady advances throughout Wednesday.
“I feel very good about Pennsylvania. Virtually all the remaining ballots to be counted were cast by mail and we’ve been winning 78% of the votes by mail in Pennsylvania,” said Biden.
The Democratic candidate said it’s been a long and difficult campaign, but admitted it’s been a more difficult time for our country. He said once the election is over, he hopes to bring Americans together, despite the partisan nature of the country.
“I know this won’t be easy. I’m not naïve, neither of us are,” said Biden referring to him and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris. “I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our country on so many things, but I also know this as well. To make progress, we have to stop treating out opponents as enemies. We are not enemies.”
He said what brings us together as Americans stronger than anything that can tear us apart and promised to be a president to the whole country, not just those who voted for him.
“The presidency itself is not a partisan institution,” he said. “It’s the one office in this nation that represents everyone, and it demands a duty of care for all Americans and that is precisely what I will do. I will work as for those who didn’t vote for me as I will for those did vote for me.”
Biden stressed that every vote must be counted to determine the winner of the election. His comments were likely in reaction to the Trump campaign's lawsuits that are asking for vote counts in Pennsylvania and Michigan to be stopped, claiming lack of “transparency.” The president's campaign is also requesting a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden was narrowly declared the winner.
“No one is going to take our democracy away from us, not now, not ever,” he said. “America has come too far. America has fought too many battles. America has endured too much to ever let that happen. We the people will not be silenced. We the people will not be bullied. We the people will not surrender.”
Biden ended by saying that he’s confident he will emerge victorious, but it won’t just be his win.
“It will be a victory for the American people, for our democracy, for America. And there will be no blue states and red states when we win, just the United States of America.”