Arizona election results: Biden lead shrinks but still projected to keep state

Mr Biden holds the state with a lead of about 43,000 votes

Joe Biden has held his lead in the battleground state of Arizona while more absentee votes come in.

Maricopa County, Arizona – the most populous county in the state – posted an additional 61,400 absentee ballots on Friday morning. The ballots swung in favour of President Donald Trump, awarding him a net gain of 3,483 votes. 

The latest ballot count has diminished Mr Biden’s lead in the state slightly, and he now remains ahead by just 43,569 votes. About 200,000 outstanding absentee ballots have yet to be tabulated, most of which are from Maricopa County. 

Mr Trump needs to keep posting net gains in votes as the final ballots are calculated, but the recent batch provided a lower net gain than the president needed if he has any hope to swing Arizona in his favour. 

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Experts have projected that if Mr Trump’s slim net gains continue, he will be unable to surpass Mr Biden and take the state of Arizona, which holds 11 Electoral College votes. 

The Associated Press and Fox News have already projected Mr Biden will take the battleground state, but the close vote tally has put that projection in question. No other news organisation has called the state. 

Arizona, a state Mr Trump won in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, has come back into play for the Democratic Party with the help, in part, to Republican Cindy McCain. 

Mrs McCain, the widow of Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, publicly endorsed Mr Biden for president. Her endorsement came after years of consistent attacks from Mr Trump about the late Republican senator, who has long held strong support among Arizona residents. 

All hope is not lost for the sitting president, as there are enough ballots left to swing Arizona in his win column. But current projections show Mr Trump has a slim chance to gain the state. 

But Arizona’s results might not matter depending on how other key battleground states land. 

Currently Mr Biden is leading in Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Georgia as well. If he were to keep all of those states, it would easily place him with more than 270 Electoral College votes. Winning Pennsylvania alone – even if Mr Trump were to gain ground in Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona – would also award the presidency to Mr Biden. 

Arizona could have its final vote tally in by the end of Friday.