Biden tightens grip on Georgia

WASHINGTON: Joe Biden’s hold on the race for the White House continued to tighten as he overtook Donald Trump in the crucial swing state of Georgia.

Early Friday, the former vice president overtook Trump in Georgia, a state that last selected a Democratic presidential candidate in 1992.

He was ahead by 917 votes as counting continued.

The Georgia secretary of state reported late on Thursday there were about 14,000 ballots still to count in the state.

The state also will have to sift through votes from military personnel and overseas residents as well as provisional ballots cast on Election Day by voters who had problems with their registration or identification.

The shift in Georgia came hours after Trump appeared at the White House to falsely claim the election was being “stolen” from him. Trump had seen his lead steadily shrink in the Southern state that has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since Bill Clinton took the White House in 1992, as officials worked through tens of thousands of uncounted votes, many from Democratic strongholds such as Atlanta.

Biden has been steadily chipping away at the Republican incumbent’s lead in Pennsylvania as well. His deficit had shrunk to just more than 18,000 there by early on Friday, and was expected to continue falling with many of the ballots still to be counted being cast in Democratic areas.

Biden also maintained slim advantages in Arizona and Nevada. In Arizona, his lead narrowed to about 47,000 early on Friday and in Nevada he was ahead by about 11,500 votes.

Georgia and Pennsylvania officials expressed optimism they would finish counting on Friday, while Arizona and Nevada were still expected to take days.

Biden urged his supporters to be patient as the votes are counted and expressed confidence during brief remarks on Thursday. “We have no doubt, when the count is finished, Senator Harris and I will be declared the winners,” he said at an appearance in the late afternoon, referring to running mate Kamala Harris.

In many ways, the week has unfolded in the way many observers predicted, with Trump racking up leads in key states in votes counted on election night.

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