2020 Election: Michigan presidential results project Biden to win MI electoral votes

Trump campaign suing in Michigan to halt ballot count

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Thursday, November 5, 2020
Biden wins Michigan, approaching 270 electoral votes
Democrat Joe Biden has carried Michigan and its 16 electoral votes, further dismantling Donald Trump's Rust Belt wall of support that helped deliver him the presidency four years ago.

DETROIT, Michigan -- ABC News projects Joe Biden will win in Michigan.

*Counties are colored red or blue when the % expected vote reporting reaches a set threshold. This threshold varies by state and is based on patterns of past vote reporting and expectations about how the vote will report this year.

Democrat Joe Biden has carried Michigan and its 16 electoral votes, further dismantling Donald Trump's Rust Belt wall of support that helped deliver him the presidency four years ago.

The flip from red back to blue was a huge blow to Trump, whose victories in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in 2016 sent him to the White House. Biden also carried Wisconsin, though Pennsylvania hasn't been called yet.

Biden's victory in Michigan pushes him to 264 Electoral College votes, six short of the 270 needed to win the White House. Trump is at 214 electoral votes. Nevada, which has six electoral votes, is among the states Democrat Hillary Clinton won in 2016 that hasn't yet been called.

Biden's campaign had particularly focused on turning out Black voters in Detroit, who failed to show up for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the numbers that Barack Obama received during his two presidential bids.

Despite needing to win Michigan, Trump took frequent swipes at the state's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who was the target of an alleged kidnapping plot that was foiled by federal law enforcement. Chants of "Lock her up!" toward Whitmer echoed at Trump's rally, and he railed against the governor on Twitter for her cautious approach to the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate: Gary Peters v. John James

Democrat Gary Peters has held onto his Senate seat in Michigan. He has defeated Republican challenger John James, a Black business executive and former combat veteran.

The 61-year-old Peters continued Democrats' dominance of Senate elections in the presidential battleground state. Republicans, who have won just one Senate seat in Michigan since the 1970s, spent heavily to try to unseat Peters in one of their few pickup opportunities.

Peters is a low-key former congressman, state lawmaker, lottery commissioner and investment adviser who served in the Navy Reserve. He ran by emphasizing his bipartisan work and by criticizing James' support for President Donald Trump.

The Associated Press and CNNWire contributed to this report.