Joe Biden prepared to declare victory on Saturday as a win in Pennsylvania delivered the electoral votes he needed to become the 46th president of the United States.
The result also amounted to a crushing verdict on the presidency of Donald J. Trump, who became the first incumbent to lose his reelection bid in nearly 30 years.
Biden’s triumph was sealed when Pennsylvania’s ballots made clear he would cross the threshold of 270 electoral votes.
The win caps an extraordinary three-decade pursuit of the presidency for Biden, the former vice president and before that longtime senator from Delaware.
It also ushers the nation to a historic milestone as his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, is the first woman and person of color to become vice president-elect.
Biden and Harris prepared to declare victory in Wilmington, where the former vice president lives.