President-elect Joe Biden has officially won Pennsylvania by a margin of 80,555 votes, according to the state's finalized vote counts.
Biden, a former Vice President and Penn Presidential Professor of Practice, was declared the winner of Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes by major news outlets on Nov. 7, which propelled him past the 270 required electoral votes to secure the presidency. He led by about 34,000 votes at the time. His finalized victory margin is in stark contrast with the 2016 election, in which President Donald Trump bested Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes.
Pennsylvanian suburbs shifted toward Biden to deliver his victory, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, including Allegheny County, which is home to Pittsburgh and its suburbs. Biden won the heavily Democratic Philadelphia by a large margin, although Trump improved his showing in the city from 2016.
In Philadelphia, Trump made gains in areas with large Latinx populations, according to the Inquirer, which is consistent with his improved nationwide showing with Latinx voters. But the city's Black and Latinx populations still heavily favored Biden.
The Inquirer reported that the pandemic may have contributed toward Trump's improved result in Philadelphia because many college students were kept off campus this semester.
The four counties surrounding Philadelphia all saw a five-digit gain in the Democratic margin of victory from 2016, the Inquirer reported, including a large 40,700 vote gain in Montgomery County.
Trump found raw vote gains in rural counties, although Biden increased his share of the vote over Clinton's in 2016 in these areas. To win the state, Trump would have needed to increase his margin in rural areas by greater amounts, the Inquirer reported.
Only 10 out of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, including Philadelphia, voted for Trump at a higher rate than in 2016, the Inquirer reported.
Pennsylvania was a crucial swing state in the 2020 election, prompting both major candidates to make several high-profile visits to the area, including Philadelphia. Biden visited Philadelphia on Nov. 1 and again on Election Day, Nov. 3, to campaign.
Penn students turned out overwhelmingly for Biden on Election Day. Of the ballots cast in person on campus on Election Day, Biden won about 83% percent of the vote.
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