Who has won the US election, and when will the president be inaugurated?

Joe Biden’s path to the White House ultimately ran through Pennsylvania

Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the US presidential election after managing to flip key Republican states. 

His path to the White House turned out to run through the state of Pennsylvania, whose 20 electoral votes tipped him over the magic number of the 270. He will be sworn in as president on Inauguration Day, 20 January, when the current presidential term ends at noon precisely.

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Biden camp since Election Day. The “blue wave” Democratic landslide failed to materialise, and the former VP initially appeared to be trailing the president, especially after a solid loss in Florida.

But Mr Trump’s lead disintegrated as the state counted more mail-in ballots and early votes. On Wednesday, Michigan and Wisconsin – two vital bricks in the former “blue wall" that Hillary Clinton lost to Mr Trump in 2016 – were called for Mr Biden.

Read more: Biden wins 2020 US election - follow live updates

The final makeup of the map is a major advance for the Democrats. Mr Biden appeared to have flipped the reliably red states of Georgia and Arizona, held on to all the states that Secretary Clinton won, and survived a close call in Nevada. Georgia on Friday, however, said it would be launching a recount. At the point where Mr Biden won, North Carolina, which the Democrats last won in 2008, remained too close to call.

Still, the Democrats have plenty of disappointments to deal with, failing to make the inroads they had hoped for in Texas and Ohio.

They also lost several seats in the House of Representatives, where they had expected to pick up new districts, and pending the outcome of a few races, have failed to gain an outright majority in the Senate.

Among the most disappointing losses were some of the most expensive campaigns. In Kentucky, Democratic challenger Amy McGrath lost to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; Jaime Harrison, who raised more money than any Senate candidate in history, was defeated by Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, while Susan Collins – thought to be highly vulnerable – held on to her seat in Maine.

The Democrats’ hope of controlling the chamber may now rest on two new year runoff elections for both Senate seats in Georgia.

Read more: Can Trump run again in 2024? 

Republican Senator David Perdue appeared headed for a run-off against Democrat Jon Ossoff, while GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler and Democratic Raphael Warnock will also fight a final round. Both elections will take place on 5 January.

If Democrats can pull even with the Republicans in the Senate, that would effectively give them a majority since the sitting vice president serves as the tie-breaking vote – making current senator Kamala Harris one of the most influential vice presidents in decades.