Top pollster calls Arizona for Biden
Plea to share intelligence briefings
WASHINGTON: Presidentelect Joe Biden cemented his electoral victory by capturing the battleground state of Arizona late yesterday, but the transition to his administration remains in political stasis as President Donald Trump refuses to accept defeat.
Biden was projected to win Arizona after more than a week of vote counting, Edison Research said. He becomes only the second Democratic presidential candidate in seven decades to win the traditionally Republican state.
Biden’s win in Arizona gives the Democrat 290 electoral votes in the statebystate Electoral College that determines the winner, more than the 270 needed to claim victory. Biden is also winning the popular vote by more than 5.3 million votes, or 3.4 percentage points.
With only a few states still counting votes, the electoral math is daunting for Trump, who has claimed without evidence that the election was marred by widespread fraud.
In order to erase Biden’s advantage, Trump, a Republican, would have to overtake the Democrat’s lead in at least three of the competitive swing states.
The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits challenging the vote counts in numerous states, although some have already been thrown out by judges. Legal experts have said the litigation stands little chance of altering the outcome, and state election officials have said they see no evidence of serious irregularities or fraud.
Trump’s refusal to accept the result of the November 3 election has stalled the process of transitioning to a new administration. The federal agency that normally would release funding to an incoming presidentelect, the General Services Administration, has not yet recognised Biden as the winner.
Most Republicans have publicly endorsed Trump’s right to pursue court challenges and declined to recognise Biden as the winner. But more signs of dissension began emerging yesterday. Party figures such as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and Karl Rove, a top adviser to former president George W. Bush, said Biden should be treated as the presidentelect.
Meanwhile, some Republican senators said the Trump Administration should allow Biden to receive classified intelligence briefings, though they stopped short of explicitly calling him the winner.
The incoming commanderinchief is typically given the briefings to ensure national security is not compromised during the transition.
However, top House Republican, Kevin McCarthy, opposed the idea, suggesting Trump could still prevail.
‘‘He’s not president right now,’’ McCarthy said of Biden. ‘‘I don’t know if he’ll be president January 20th.’’
The top Democrats in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, yesterday called on Republicans to accept Biden’s victory and work on crafting a relief package to address the effects of the pandemic.
Biden, who is set to become America’s second Roman Catholic president, after John F. Kennedy, spoke to the pope yesterday, thanking him for his ‘‘blessing and congratulations’’, his transition team said.
Biden told the pontiff he wanted to work together on issues including caring for the poor, addressing climate change and welcoming immigrants and refugees. — Reuters