U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at a carpenters union in Phoenix, Arizona, October 8, 2020.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President-elect Joe Biden is projected to win Arizona’s 11 Electoral College votes, NBC News reported late Thursday.
With Biden’s projected victory in the state extending his lead over incumbent President Donald Trump, he now has 290 Electoral College votes, according to NBC’s current tally.
On Saturday, NBC projected Biden would win the U.S. presidential election, after calling Pennsylvania for the former vice president. The state pushed him over the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidential race.
Trump has, so far, refused to concede the election.
Polling averages had indicated that Biden was a slight favorite to win Arizona. Trump won the state by slightly more than 3 percentage points in 2016.
As of 11:45 p.m. ET on Thursday, Biden was leading with 1,668,684 votes, compared with 1,657,250 for Trump, a margin of 49.4% to 49.1%.
The last time Arizona voted Democratic in a presidential election was 1996, when Bill Clinton was reelected. Otherwise, known for GOP stalwarts such as late Sens. Barry Goldwater and John McCain, the state has been solidly Republican since the 1950s.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
