2020 Latest: Mich. Democrat Peters wins Senate reelection

WASHINGTON — The Latest on the presidential campaign (all times local):

9:12 p.m.

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.

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7:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump's campaign and the Georgia Republican Party have filed a lawsuit against the Chatham County Board of Elections asking a judge to order the county to secure and account for ballots received after 7 p.m. on Election Day.

State party chair David Shafer said in a statement Wednesday night that they planned to sue in a dozen counties.

The lawsuit alleges that a Republican observer watched a poll worker take unprocessed absentee ballots from a back room and mix them into processed absentee ballots waiting to be tabulated.

In Georgia, ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to count. Chatham County contains Savannah and leans Democratic.

A woman who answered the phone at the Chatham County Board of Elections offices declined to comment.

Georgia is among a handful of states that The Associated Press has not called. In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, Democrat Joe Biden currently has 264 while Trump has 214.

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HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:

Democrat Joe Biden is six electoral votes short of clinching the White House after flipping Michigan. Biden also won Arizona and Wisconsin, two other states that Republican Donald Trump carried in 2016 over Hillary Clinton. States still up for grabs include Nevada (6 electoral votes), Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes) and Georgia (16 electoral votes).

Read more:

— With presidency in reach, Democrats grapple with disappointment

— EXPLAINER: States still in play and what makes them that way

— EXPLAINING RACE CALLS: Presidential race too early to call

— Trump sues in Pennsylvania, Michigan, asks for Wisconsin recount

— Biden wins Wisconsin, presidency still hangs in balance

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON:

5:58 p.m.

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.

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5:50 p.m.

Joe Biden has won more overall votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history, surpassing the record set by Barack Obama in 2008.

The Democratic presidential nominee received more than 71 million votes — more than Obama's high of about 69.5 million from 12 years ago.

As of Wednesday night, Biden held a popular vote advantage of more than 3 million votes over President Donald Trump. But with millions of ballots yet to be counted, Trump's final vote tally is likely to exceed Obama's previous record as well.

The Associated Press has yet to call a winner in the presidential race, as several key states, including Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia, are too early to call. Votes are still be counted many places.

With the coronavirus pandemic raging, many states eased rules on voting by mail and millions of Americans cast ballots that way. That helped increase overall voter participation, but also slowed tabulation since absentee ballots often take longer to process than those cast in person.

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5:20 p.m.

The top elections official in Nevada's most populous county says more results will be released Thursday morning that include mail-in ballots received on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon that he did not yet know how many ballots had been received but uncounted in the Las Vegas area.

Early results showed Democrat Joe Biden with a slim lead over President Donald Trump in Nevada, but it was too early to declare a winner in the race Wednesday with a large number of ballots yet to be counted.

The Nevada secretary of state's office initially said a new batch of results would be released Thursday morning. But Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Wayne Thorley said in a text message that the state would likely release some additional results Wednesday afternoon but that he did not know how many would be included.

Gloria said he would be holding daily 10 a.m. news conferences until all ballots were counted, including provisional ballots that were cast by voters taking advantage of same-day registration, electronic ballots sent to overseas voters or ballots for disabled voters.

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5:15 p.m.

The Associated Press has not yet declared winners of the presidential contests in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina or Michigan.

President Donald Trump, however, has prematurely declared that he has carried the states.

Trump tweeted Wednesday that he has "claimed, for Electoral Vote purposes, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (which won't allow legal observers) the State of Georgia, and the State of North Carolina, each one of which has a BIG Trump lead."

"Additionally, we hereby claim the State of Michigan if, in fact," he says, "there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported!"

Trump has been trying for months to undermine public confidence in the election if he does not win.

Trump's Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, currently has 248 electoral votes, while Trump has 214. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

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4:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump's campaign has accused a Michigan election official of failing to ensure that challengers and bipartisan observers watch the processing of absentee ballots.

The Republican campaign filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop the count, which was mostly centered in Detroit, until Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson allows more inspectors. There was no immediate response from a Court of Claims judge.

The Associated Press has not yet called Michigan.

Trump's allies chanted, "Stop the count!" inside TCF Center, where ballots were being handled. The Detroit elections department was expected to finish counting absentee ballots by Wednesday evening.

Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel says, "Michigan's elections have been conducted transparently, with access provided for both political parties and the public, and using a robust system of checks and balances to ensure that all ballots are counted fairly and accurately."

More than 3 million absentee ballots were cast in Michigan in the first major election since a new law made them available to any voter. But local election clerks couldn't start counting them until after polls closed Tuesday.

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4:20 p.m.

Joe Biden says he's not ready to declare victory as vote counting continues in the presidential election, but he says, "When the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."

The Associated Press hasn't called the presidential race. Biden currently has 248 electoral votes, while President Donald Trump has 214. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

Biden addressed reporters Wednesday afternoon from Wilmington, Delaware, alongside his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris.

Biden says, "Every vote must be counted." He added, "We the people will not be silenced."

Biden also tried to sound like a president-elect, promising to reach out to political opponents and insisting that the presidency "itself is not a partisan institution."

Biden did not take questions. President Donald Trump's reelection campaign has filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Michigan as ballots continue to be counted in both states.

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3:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump's campaign says it's suing to temporarily stop the vote count in Pennsylvania, claiming lack of "transparency."

Justin Clark, Trump's deputy campaign manager, said in a statement Wednesday that the campaign is "suing to stop Democrat election officials from hiding the ballot counting and processing from our Republican poll observers." He said the campaign wants "to temporarily halt counting until there is meaningful transparency and Republicans can ensure all counting is done above board and by the law."

Clark also said the campaign would seek to intervene in an ongoing Supreme Court case involving the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots.

There have been no reports by law enforcement of fraud or any type of ballot concerns out of Pennsylvania. The state had 3.1 million ballots mailed out that take time to count, and an order allows them to be counted up until Friday if they are postmarked by Nov. 3.

The Associated Press has not yet called Pennsylvania. Democrat Joe Biden currently has 248 electoral votes, while Trump has 214. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

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2:16 p.m.

Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump in battleground Wisconsin, securing the state's 10 electoral votes and reclaiming a key part of the blue wall that slipped away from Democrats four years ago.

The Associated Press called Wisconsin for Biden after election officials in the state said all outstanding ballots had been counted, save for a few hundred in one township and an expected small number of provisional ballots.

Trump's campaign has requested a recount. Statewide recounts in Wisconsin have historically changed the vote tally by only a few hundred votes; Biden leads by .624 percentage points out of nearly 3.3 million ballots counted.

The victory for Biden bumps him up to 248 electoral votes, while Trump has 214. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

In 2016, Trump won Wisconsin by fewer than 23,000 votes, a breakthrough that along with wins in Michigan and Pennsylvania helped hand him his first term in the White House. Democrats were determined to reclaim Wisconsin, a state that before Trump hadn't gone for a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

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2:02 p.m.

President Donald Trump's campaign says it has filed a lawsuit trying to halt the vote count in battleground Michigan.

The latest counts gives Trump's Democratic challenger Joe Biden a small lead, but the race is still too early to call.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien says in a statement Wednesday that the campaign "has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law."

He says a suit was filed Wednesday in the Michigan Court of Claims "to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted."

Michigan is a critical battleground state that helped deliver Trump the presidency four years ago, along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Neither Wisconsin or Pennsylvania has been called yet.

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1:30 p.m.

Joe Biden will address the election results Wednesday afternoon, even as it remains too early for The Associated Press to call the presidential race.

The Democratic presidential candidate will issue a televised address in Wilmington, Delaware. He's been watching the returns come in with family from his home there.

Biden's campaign manager expressed confidence in an eventual win for Democrats during a call with reporters earlier Wednesday, pointing to their projections of the outcome in Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

But the AP is not calling the presidential race yet because neither candidate has secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. The AP called Arizona for Biden, but several key states remain too early to call: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada.

As it stands, Biden has 238 electoral votes, while Trump has 214.

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1:24 p.m.

President Donald Trump has won one of Maine's four electoral votes, just as he did in 2016.

Trump carried the state's 2nd Congressional District, the more rural and conservative of Maine's congressional districts.

While Democrat Joe Biden easily carried the state itself, Maine is one of only two states that divides its electoral votes.

Biden won the 1st Congressional District and the statewide tally, good for three electoral votes. Trump's victory in the 2nd Congressional District means he wins one electoral vote.

Maine split its electoral votes four years ago, awarding three to Democrat Hillary Clinton and one to Trump.

2016 marked the first time in state history that Maine divided its electoral votes.

In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win, Biden has 238 while Trump has 214.

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12:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien says the president plans to "immediately" request a recount in the battleground state of Wisconsin, where the race remains close.

In Wisconsin, if a race is within 1 percentage point, the trailing candidate can force a recount.

Stepien says in a statement Wednesday: "The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so."

The fate of the United States presidency is hanging in the balance, with Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, battling for three familiar battleground states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that could prove crucial in determining who wins the White House.

In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win, Biden has 238 while Trump has 213.

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12:10 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is discounting President Donald Trump's early claim that he'd already won the election, saying it's going to take a while for states to conduct their vote counts.

The Kentucky Republican and Trump ally said Wednesday that "claiming you've won the election is different from finishing the counting."

McConnell also says he is untroubled by Trump's vows to contest the vote count in key states, telling reporters in Louisville that "you should not be shocked that both sides are going to have lawyers there."

He added that "the courts will decide disputes. That's the way we do it in this country."

Early Wednesday, Trump said, "We will win this, and as far as I'm concerned we already have won it."

But the outcome is still unclear in key states Trump would need if he is to win against Democrat Joe Biden.

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4 a.m.

Democrat Joe Biden's campaign says it will fight any efforts by President Donald Trump's campaign to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent ballots from being tabulated.

In a statement sent before 4 a.m. Wednesday, Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon called Trump's statement that he will "be going to the U.S. Supreme Court" and that he wants "all voting to stop" "outrageous, unprecedented and incorrect."

O'Malley Dillon says the Biden campaign has "legal teams standing by ready to deploy to resist that effort." And she says, "They will prevail."

The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the presidential race. There are still hundreds of thousands of votes left to be counted, and the outcome hinges on a handful of uncalled battleground states.

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3:06 a.m.

Democrat Joe Biden has won at least three of Maine's four electoral votes in his bid to unseat President Donald Trump.

Biden won the statewide tally and the 1st Congressional District, good for three electoral votes. Trump, meanwhile, hoped to claim one electoral vote in a win in the 2nd Congressional District. The 2nd Congressional District hasn't yet been called.

Maine split its electoral votes four years ago, awarding three to Democrat Hillary Clinton and one to Trump, who won the more rural and conservative of Maine's congressional districts.

It marked the first time in state history that Maine divided its electoral votes.

Maine is one of only two states that divides its electoral votes. The other is Nebraska.

In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win, Biden has 238 while Trump has 213.

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2:52 a.m.

Democrat Joe Biden has won Arizona and its 11 electoral votes, flipping a critical battleground state that Donald Trump won four years ago and that could help determine which candidate wins the presidency.

The victory by Biden was a huge blow to Trump's chances for reelection. Arizona has backed a Democratic presidential candidate only once in the last 72 years.

Biden's campaign had focused on Arizona as part of its expanded battleground map through the Sun Belt, citing demographic changes, new residents and realignment away from Republicans among key suburban voters.

Arizona is among the more than half a dozen states that will help determine which candidate gets the 270 electoral votes to capture the White House.

Biden's massive advantage in campaign cash allowed him to put Trump on defense across the country and work to build an unstoppable lead in the Electoral College.

In the race to 270 electoral votes, Biden has 236, while Trump has 213.

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2:40 a.m.

President Donald Trump is vowing to ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on the inconclusive election. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the presidential race.

Trump appeared before supporters at the White House early Wednesday morning and cried foul over the election results, calling the process "a major fraud on our nation." But there's no evidence of foul play in the cliffhanger.

The night ended with hundreds of thousands of votes still to be counted, and the outcome still unclear in key states he needs if he is to win against Democrat Joe Biden.

Nevertheless, he has cast the night as a disenfranchisement of his voters. He said: "We will win this and as far as I'm concerned we already have won it."

Trump says: "We'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court — we want all voting to stop." In fact, there is no more voting — just counting.

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1:27 a.m.

President Donald Trump has won four of Nebraska's five electoral votes, while Democrat Joe Biden has won one electoral vote from the state.

The 1st Congressional District was called for Trump early Wednesday. He also won the 3rd Congressional District earlier, as well as the statewide vote. Trump gets one electoral vote for each congressional district, plus two electoral votes for winning the statewide vote.

Biden's win in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha, is a flip from 2016, when Trump narrowly won it against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

While Trump easily carried the state itself, Nebraska is one of only two states that divides its electoral votes.

In 2016, Trump won all five of Nebraska's electoral votes.

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1:22 a.m.

Democrat Joe Biden has won Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha. That flips a district that Donald Trump won in 2016.

Nebraska, one of two states that divides its electoral votes, has five total electoral votes up for grabs. On Tuesday, Trump won the statewide vote, which is good for two electoral votes. He also won the 3rd Congressional District, which nets him a third vote.

Biden earns one electoral vote for winning Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Nebraska's 1st Congressional District hasn't yet been called.

In 2016, Trump narrowly won Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

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1:12 a.m.

Twitter is hiding an election-related post by President Donald Trump, warning that its content is disputed and could be misleading.

Trump stated without evidence early Wednesday that Democrats were trying to "steal" the election. He also falsely said votes cannot be cast after polls are closed.

States allow voters to cast ballots if they are in line when polls close. Some states also allow mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day but received later to be counted.

Trump's tweet came after his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, delivered remarks as the race was too early to call in key battleground states.

Biden told his supporters to be patient while all the votes are counted.

Twitter says placing a warning on the tweet is in line with its "Civic Integrity Policy." The tweet is still visible after clicking through the warning.

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1:06 a.m.

President Donald Trump has won Texas and its 38 electoral votes despite a furious, late push by Democrats to turn America's biggest red state blue.

An avalanche of early votes fed Democrats' high hopes of ending decades of losses in Texas, where polls showed Joe Biden running unusually close. But Trump carried Texas for a second straight year.

Trump won Texas by 9 percentage points in 2016 and all but took a win here for granted. He didn't swing through Texas for campaign rallies or swamp television airwaves, and his conservative allies on the ground scoffed at Biden's chances as a far reach.

Trump sought to make an issue out of Biden's answer during their final presidential debate that Biden would "transition away from the oil industry" if elected president. Texas is among the swing states with voters who depend on the oil industry to make a living.

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12:51 a.m.

Joe Biden is asking his supporters to "keep the faith" and urging them to "be patient" as the counting goes on in the drawn-out U.S. presidential election.

The Democratic presidential candidate emerged Wednesday after midnight to speak on the election results that have left the outcome in the balance. He spent the evening watching the returns come in from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, then drove downtown by motorcade to make his statement outside the Chase Center.

He told a gathering of supporters that his hopes for victory remain high despite the uncertainty and cautioned them that it could take a day or longer to know who won.

He told them: "Your patience is commendable."

Hours after the polls have closed across America, however, the result is up in the air.

A number of key states still have hundreds of thousands of ballots outstanding, after a large influx of mail ballots have slowed down the count in states across the nation.

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12:35 a.m.

President Donald Trump has won Florida and its 29 electoral votes, the biggest prize among the perennial battlegrounds and a state crucial to his reelection hopes.

A victory in Florida means reelection is within Trump's grasp. A loss in the state would have made it nearly impossible for Trump to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to retain the White House.

Democrat Joe Biden's campaign had hoped the devastating toll of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly among older adults, would put him in a strong position in a state popular with retirees.

Trump moved his official residence to his Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago from New York last year.

Trump narrowly beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state in 2016.