2020 will definitely be a year to remember. Some of the most important events of 2020 include the United States Presidential Election between the Republican President Donald Trump, with his Vice President Mike Pence, and the Democratic Former Vice President Joe Biden, with his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. However, the 2020 Election stands out from most, if not all, other Presidential Elections in modern times because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects.
By now, most of us know the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election and if you don’t (Spoiler Alert!), the President-elect is Joe Biden. This year’s election has already set some records, such as having the greatest number of votes cast; in fact, President elect Biden has received the most votes a Presidential candidate has ever received, with President Trump at a close second. In addition to President elect Biden winning the popular vote, President elect Biden also received 306 electoral votes compared to President Trump, receiving only 232 electoral votes, short of the 270 electoral votes he needed to win reelection.
In the map above, you can see each state’s number of electoral votes and who received the state’s electoral votes. Some of the most noticeable changes from past years would be the results of Arizona and Georgia. Until this year, neither Arizona nor Georgia has given their electoral votes to a Democrat since 1992. Also, compared to the 2016 Electoral Map, Biden was able to flip Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania from red to blue. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are all important states for Biden and his team to have a chance at winning the election.
With Biden winning those key states, a Biden Presidency would mean that the Democrats would only need to take three seats in the Senate as Vice President elect Kamala Harris would be the President of the Senate. As President of the Senate, Vice President elect Harris can only vote if there is a tie vote and would be the deciding vote on the topic. In addition, President elect Biden is expected to make key picks for his cabinet that could break barriers of race and gender. However, the Senate election is not over as Georgia has a run-off election for both of their Senate seats, which if the Democrats are able to win, gives the Democrats the majority in the Senate as the Democrats were able to take one Senate seat from the Republicans on Election Day and only needs two more. With a Democratic majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, Biden and the Democrats will be able to reach their goals easier than with a Republican majority in the Senate. With all that said, if you want to watch the Inauguration of Joe Biden, Inauguration Day is on Wednesday, January 20th, 2021.