Presidential race tightens as counting continues
American flags are displayed on the Ora E. Paul memorial marker on the Woodstock Village Green. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
The closer it got to midnight, the more the 2020 presidential race tightened up on Tuesday night. But a conclusion was nowhere in sight.
The influx of mail-in ballots was a major factor throughout the country, as many millions of them remained to be counted. Additionally, the rules governing the counting process vary from state to state this year. Resulting delays in some areas were expected to last into Wednesday morning, as a nation awaited the outcome of the race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden.
Close to midnight, Trump held the lead in the battlegrounds of Michigan and Pennsylvania, with just over half the vote counted in both states. Biden pulled ahead in Virginia at the same time, with CNN calling the state for the former vice president. Within the hour, multiple networks called the pivotal states of Ohio and Florida for Trump. Minnesota was soon called for Biden, who also held a lead in Arizona as the hour neared 1 a.m.
In earlier local news, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) won a third term as governor, with Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman (P/D) conceding the race around 9 p.m. Scott had a substantial lead of 66 to 27 percent, with 88 percent of districts reporting.
“Today, Vermonters have spoken and I am humbled to earn your support once again, your faith and trust in me is the greatest honor of my life and I will continue to work every single day to make the lives of Vermonters better," Scott said in a video statement.
Earlier in the day, Scott also made headlines by confirming he voted for Joe Biden for president — the first Republican governor in the country to admit such.
Also in Vermont, the closely-followed lieutenant governor race had Democrat Molly Gray ahead of Republican Scott Milne, 50 to 41 percent with 88 percent of districts reporting.
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) easily won reelection, taking 67 percent of the vote in that race, according to The Associated Press. Republican challenger Miriam Berry came in at 26 percent.
Nationwide, early voting hit 70 percent of the 2016 general election vote total on Monday. Similarly, Vermont's voting also surged before Nov. 3, surpassing two-thirds of the state's 2016 vote tally by the weekend.
That's not to say the polls were quiet on Tuesday in the Green Mountain State. Far from it, said Democratic State Rep. Charlie Kimbell, of Woodstock, who was greeting voters outside of town hall on Tuesday.
"We had people waiting in line at 7 a.m.," Kimbell said, adding he'd seen a steady stream of people throughout the day. There were also voters who insisted on casting their ballot in person on Election Day, he noted, to uphold that tradition amid the pandemic.
— Gareth Henderson
