Wisconsin election results: Biden wins back state from Trump edging him closer to presidency

President immediately demands a recount in the state, though Democratic nominee has a strong lead of more than 20,000 votes

Former Vice President Joe Biden has won the state of Wisconsin in the 2020 presidential elections against President Donald Trump, a landmark victory in the Democratic nominee’s bid to unseat his Republican opponent.

The state has 10 electoral votes, raising Mr Biden’s current tally of reported votes in the Electoral College to 237. At least 270 electoral votes are required to win the White House.

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Mr Biden won the state by 20,697 votes, according to the final ballot count. The state was called by the Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon following public statements from local officials saying their vote count had been completed.

In an interview with NBC News, the administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission announced just before noon on Wednesday: “All of the ballots have been counted.”

It was later reported one small district of about 300 voters remained uncounted, though that would not be enough to sway the results. Recounts in Wisconsin have typically yielded on a few dozen or so changes in ballots, according to local officials.

Wisconsin was one of the remaining key battlegrounds in which both candidates were fighting for a victory, with other crucial states like Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania all still counting ballots the day after Election Day.

Before the state could even be called, Mr Trump attempted to falsely claim victory in the election, as Mr Biden called for all of the votes to be counted. The president cannot call a victory until they officially have the 270 electoral college votes necessary to win the election.

The Biden campaign said it believed it had won Wisconsin before the state had been called and was meanwhile focused on Pennsylvania, which campaign analysts have long said could determine the fate of the elections. 

An estimated 3.3 million ballots had been counted in Wisconsin by Wednesday afternoon, with Mr Biden leading by .624 percent.

Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 campaign manager, said in a statement: “Despite ridiculous public polling used as a voter suppression tactic, Wisconsin has been a razor thin race as we always knew that it would be.”

He added “There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results. The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so.”

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker meanwhile said a recount was unlikely to produce a significant change in the outcome of the state’s elections in a statement amid reports showing Mr Biden had won.

“20,000 is a high hurdle,” the Republican wrote in a tweet.