Biden Overtakes Trump in Pennsylvania As Georgia Heads for Recount

In Pennsylvania, a crucial state in the US presidential election, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has pulled ahead of Donald Trump, results data show.

Biden is ahead, with 98 percent counted, by more than 19,500 votes. He will win the election if he takes the state.

Earlier, Biden edged ahead of his Republican rival in Georgia, another important battleground state, where a recount will now be held.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign said: "This election is not over."

Biden is expected to address the nation on Friday night from his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, about his growing lead. His team is tracking news networks to see if he will be declared the winner by them.

The transition process is scheduled to begin on Monday if the Democrat is proclaimed the victor this weekend.

However, there is no indication Trump will concede to his opponent in the short term.

"Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President," he tweeted on Friday afternoon. "I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!"

Trump has been making unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, spurring some fellow Republicans to speak up that the rhetoric should be toned down.

What's the current state of the race?

Biden is leading Trump by more than 4 million votes out of a record 145 million cast.

But in the Electoral College, the US presidential election results are determined on a state-by - state basis, and the race is far closer in the key battlegrounds.

Biden has 253 votes in the Electoral College, while Trump has 214 votes. A candidate needs 270. To win the White House, a candidate needs 270.

For Biden, some news organisations have a higher count, having expected a victory for the Democrat in Arizona. But the BBC claims it is too early to call the state.

There are 20 Electoral College votes in Pennsylvania, where Biden was born. If it were won by the Democrat, with 273 votes, he would win victory.

Biden currently leads in Pennsylvania by more than 21,000 votes. The Rust Belt state voted Democratic in six consecutive White House races before it swung to Trump in 2016.

Biden actually leads by more than 4,000 votes in Georgia, and 99 percent of the ballots counted. The Secretary of State of Georgia said there would be a recount because the margin was so small.

Georgia is a traditionally Republican state (16 electoral votes) and has not been won by a Democrat in a presidential race since 1992.

Biden leads by more than 22,000 votes in Nevada (six electoral votes) and by fewer than 30,000 in Arizona (11 electoral votes).

Trump leads in North Carolina (15 electoral votes) by more than 76,000 ballots.

Trump's team says legal challenges and recounts in some states will favour them.

Bob Bauer, a Biden campaign lawyer, says the lawsuits are legally "meritless".

But on Thursday, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that close-up monitoring of the counting should be given to Republican election observers.

To confirm Biden as president-elect, a win in just Pennsylvania or two of the other four remaining states would be enough.

Trump would need to win Pennsylvania and three of the remaining four states.

What's the mood inside the White House?

According to White House officials, President Trump is furious and upset that more of his supporters are not rallying to his side on television or in the streets.

He watched television, made phone calls to campaign offices on-the-ground, and split his time between the Oval Office and the home.

described as "very empty" with a sombre mood.

The president has indicated to senior advisers that he will forge ahead with legal challenges to the results, although there is still no strategy for such litigation.

One senior outside adviser to the president described his mood on Friday as "somewhere between sullen and hopeful".

The source added that Trump "was the last one to think he could win in 2016", despite his top aides telling him that he would.