WASHINGTON  — Democrat Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States. Biden vanquished his Republican foe after a campaign as bitter and divisive as Trump’s own presidential term.

Victories in “blue wall” northern industrial states propelled Biden to the White House, where he’ll confront America’s deep health, economic and social ills. A win in Pennsylvania sealed his victory after more than three tension-filled days of counting votes. Record numbers of Americans voted early and by mail, many out of concern about going to polling places during the coronavirus pandemic.

President-Elect Biden: It's Time For US To Heal

President-elect Joe Biden says it’s time for America to “unite” and to “heal.” Biden said in a statement Saturday, “With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation.” “We are the United States of America,” he wrote. “And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.” 

Biden is planning to address the nation on Saturday night. His presidential campaign announced that Biden and his wife, Jill, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff will appear at a drive-in rally outside the convention center in Wilmington, Delaware.

Trump Is Not Conceding

President Donald Trump is not conceding to President-elect Joe Biden, promising unspecified legal challenges seeking to overturn the outcome of the race for the White House. Trump said in a statement that “our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.” Trump was at his Virginia golf course when the presidential race was called for Biden on Saturday. Biden clinched his victory with a win in Pennsylvania, the state where he was born. In recent weeks, Trump has alleged — without evidence — widespread fraud and misconduct in the election. His comments have drawn bipartisan rebuke from election officials and lawmakers as dangerous attempts to undermine public confidence in the vote.

The AP Call

The Associated Press declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner of his native Pennsylvania at 11:25 a.m. EST.  The AP called the race for Biden, who held a 30,952-vote lead after it determined that the remaining ballots left to be counted would not allow Trump to catch up . Under Pennsylvania law, a recount is automatic when the margin between two candidates in a statewide race is less than 0.5 percentage points. Biden’s lead over Trump was on track to stay outside of that margin. The AP called the race for Biden after it determined that the remaining ballots left to be counted would not allow Trump to catch up.

Transition Team At Work

Joe Biden’s transition team isn’t waiting for a verdict in the presidential race before getting to work. As election officials continue to count ballots in several undecided states, longtime Biden aide Ted Kaufman is leading efforts to ensure the former vice president can begin building out a government in anticipation of a victory. In the meantime, an odd political limbo has taken told. The Biden team is moving forward but can’t tackle all that needs to be accomplished, and President Donald Trump continues to claim without evidence that the election is being stolen from him.

Harris Becomes First Black Woman, South Asian Elected VP

Kamala Harris is making history as the first Black woman elected vice president of the United States, shattering barriers that have kept men — almost all of them white — entrenched at the highest levels of American politics for more than two centuries. The 56-year-old California senator is also the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency. She represents the multiculturalism that defines America but is largely absent from Washington’s power centers. Her Black identity has allowed her to speak in personal terms in a year of reckoning over police brutality and systemic racism.

Cheers in Delaware As Biden Wins Presidency

People cheered and pumped their fists along the Wilmington, Delaware, waterfront as the news that the presidential race had been called for the state's former senator arrived on their cellphones. The waterfront is just steps from the outdoor stage that Democrat Joe Biden erected on Election Day to celebrate victory. On the water late Saturday morning, two men on a kayak yelled to a couple paddling by in the opposite direction, “Joe won! They called it!” as people on the shore whooped and hollered. Biden’s campaign had not yet scheduled a victory celebration, but he was expected to take the stage for a drive-in rally after dark. During a speech late Friday night, Biden said he would be declared the winner very soon, adding, “I hope to be talking to you tomorrow.

Biden Wins Nevada

Democrat Joe Biden has won Nevada, adding to his Electoral College victory over President Donald Trump. Biden clinched Nevada on Saturday afternoon, shortly after he won the presidency by taking Pennsylvania. Trump had made a strong play in Nevada, holding several rallies there in the final stretch of the campaign. Democrat Hillary Clinton narrowly won Nevada in 2016, and Republicans saw an opening to expand their electoral map. The pandemic has pummeled Nevada’s tourism-dependent economy, especially, hampering Trump’s ability to make inroads in the state. Nevada is also home to a large Hispanic population, a voting bloc that typically leans Democratic. The last Republican presidential candidate to win Nevada was George W. Bush in 2004.

Former Presidents Congratulate Biden And Harris

Three former Democratic presidents are offering their congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Bill Clinton tweeted that “America has spoken and democracy has won.” The 42nd president also predicted Biden and Harris would “serve all of us and bring us all together.” Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, said in a statement Saturday that he and his wife, Rosalynn, are “proud” of the Democrats’ “well-run campaign and seeing the positive change they bring to our nation.”

Barack Obama, the 44th president, also issued a statement, saying he couldn't be prouder of the victory. Biden served as Obama's Vice President.

This story will be updated.