Local NPR for the Cape, Coast & Islands 90.1 91.1 94.3

Narrow Wins In These Key States Powered Biden To The Presidency

In a contest with historic turnout, President-elect Joe Biden topped President Trump by nearly 7 million votes, and 74 votes in the Electoral College, but his victory really was stitched together with narrow margins in a handful of states.

Trump's legal team has mounted dubious and so-far-unsuccessful efforts to overturn the results in six key states Biden won. All six of those states have now certified their results, providing an opportunity to look back at the final tallies.

The graphic below shows the results in those six swing states, illustrating the especially close margins in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin.

The tight races in the trio of states had a big electoral impact. As NPR's Domenico Montanaro has put it, "just 44,000 votes in Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin separated Biden and Trump from a tie in the Electoral College."

Of course, Trump is no stranger to narrow victories. He won the 2016 election thanks to just under 80,000 combined votes in three of those six key states.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Loading...

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Ben Swasey is an editor on the Washington Desk who mostly covers politics and voting.
  1. Bearing witness, celebrating strength: How poetry has changed lives for NPR's audience
  2. Katie Ledecky tells NPR about her plans for the Paris Olympics — and L.A. in 2028
  3. Hope Hicks, former Trump confidant, testifies against him in New York criminal trial
  4. Siblings can share the darndest quirks — like picking up coins & keys with their toes
  5. How do you help patients who show up in the ER 100 times a year?