Joe Biden’s Team Reportedly Prepares Allies For Big News In Pennsylvania: ‘Get Ready To Celebrate’
Joe Biden’s campaign team is reportedly planning for some big news out of Pennsylvania, a state that could put him over the top in the 2020 presidential race.
As the vote counting stretches beyond the second day with the race for the White House still in the balance, the vice president’s team is reportedly telling allies to get ready for a celebration in the Keystone State. As NBC News reporter Geoff Bennett noted on Twitter, an official has texted local officials apparently preparing them for what could be the tipping point in the contest.
“An elected Democrat in Pennsylvania tells @mikememoli that the Biden team texted her this latest message: Get ready to celebrate — but then get ready to work because there’s a lot to do,” Bennett reported.
At the time of his tweet, the margin was still razor-thin in Pennsylvania, with Donald Trump holding onto a narrow lead but with Biden closing the gap with each update. While the reported message to the elected Democrat showed confidence from the former vice president’s campaign, in public, he has been more guarded in statements regarding the election.
While the president has declared victory, both in the overall race for the White House and in individual states, including Pennsylvania, Biden has been more careful in saying that he believes he is on course to win once all the votes have been counted.
Speaking in Delaware on Thursday, Biden called for patience and stressed that all the votes needed to be counted.
“Democracy sometimes is messy. It sometimes requires a little patience as well,” Biden said, via Politico.
“So I ask everyone to stay calm, all the people to stay calm,” he said, adding that “the process is working. The count is being completed. And we’ll know very soon.”
It was unclear just when the counting could be finalized, either in Pennsylvania or the handful of states that were still tabulating ballots and are up for grabs. While Biden maintained several potential paths to victory, the options for Trump appeared to be growing more limited as contests fell out of his column.
Pennsylvania had been a major focus for both sides throughout the 2020 presidential campaign, with the candidates making a number of appearances there. The state had long been a Democratic stronghold before Trump flipped it in 2016, winning there along with traditionally blue states Wisconsin and Michigan.
Biden had already been declared the winner in both Wisconsin and Michigan this time, with Pennsylvania potentially putting him over the 270 electoral vote threshold to win.
