JUST IN: NBC News, CNN Project Biden Wins Arizona, Adding to His Electoral College Lead

Sarah RumpfNov 12th, 2020, 11:42 pm
 

Both NBC News and CNN have projected that President-elect Joe Biden has won Arizona, making the announcement late Thursday night.

The news follows the networks’ call on Saturday that Biden had won enough states to pass the crucial 270 electoral vote threshold, and was unsurprising as Biden had maintained a more than 10,000 vote lead for the past several days, with remaining votes largely coming from Democratic stronghold areas.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich predicted Biden’s official victory in a Fox Business interview earlier in the day, saying that it would be “very, highly unlikely” for Trump to pull ahead.

Arizona’s 11 electoral votes put Biden at 290 to President Donald Trump’s 217. Only two states remain yet to be called, with Trump expected to take North Carolina and Biden expected to win Georgia, but neither of those states would change the end result.

Biden’s win in Arizona breaks a long drought for Democrats in the state. Harry Truman won there in 1948, followed by a nearly fifty-year Republican streak until Bill Clinton eked out a narrow win in 1996, and then almost a quarter century before Biden turned the state blue again.

Biden had an unusual ally for a Democrat: the wife of a Republican senator. Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), spoke at the Democratic National Convention and then officially endorsed Biden shortly before Election Day. The late Arizona senator had been a frequent target of Trump’s criticism, and his wife’s endorsement made front page news across the state. She also appeared in ads encouraging Republicans to vote for Biden.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.