Joe Biden wins Michigan in key swing-state victory

Joe Biden has motored to victory in Michigan, winning a nail-biter, overtime battle for the pivotal swing state, with CNN and NBC calling the race first on Wednesday afternoon.

The Democratic presidential hopeful racks up another 16 electoral votes with the triumph, stealing another state Trump won in 2016 and taking a big leap closer to the 270 needed to win the White House.

The razor’s edge race, however, was only called well into Wednesday, as Michigan was one of several battleground states without a clear winner on Election Night.

The call was made despite President Trump’s re-election campaign announcing a lawsuit Wednesday to halt the counting of Michigan votes until campaign observers were given “meaningful access” to the process.

Races also came down to the wire in other swing states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin — where the Trump campaign demanded a recount even before the state was called for Biden.

But if stood up, the Midwest success would mark a crucial breakthrough for Biden, after Trump made a splash by winning the Great Lake State in a 2016 upset.

Early indicators held true in Michigan, with Biden entering Election Day nursing a 4.2 percentage point lead in the state, according to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls.

In Michigan, which has been decimated by the coronavirus, the election was widely seen as a referendum on the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic.

Trump repeatedly pitched himself to working-class Michigan voters by taking shots at Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose stringent lockdown orders have, in the estimation of Republican critics, smothered the state’s economy.

In the wake of a foiled attempt by anti-government agitators to abduct Whitmer, Biden blamed the plot on Trump’s rhetoric.