Washington: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden took a narrow lead over President Donald Trump in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania on Friday, edging closer to winning the White House in a nail-biting contest as a handful of undecided states continue to count votes.
Biden has a 253 to 214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to most major television networks. Winning Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes would put the former vice president over the 270 he needs to secure the presidency, while taking just Georgia’s 16 electoral votes would put him on the cusp of victory.
In Pennsylvania, Biden moved ahead of Trump by 5,500 votes on Friday morning, while in Georgia, he had opened up a 1,097-vote lead.
Biden, 77, would become the next president by winning Pennsylvania, or by winning two out of the trio of Georgia, Nevada and Arizona. Trump’s likeliest path appears narrower – he needs to hang onto both Pennsylvania and Georgia and also to overtake Biden in either Nevada or Arizona.
Biden moved ahead of Trump by 1,097 votes in Georgia, where counting continued early on Friday.
