Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
This county, the state’s most populous with more than 1.5 million inhabitants, is coterminous with the city of Philadelphia. Residents cast about 750,000 votes in the election, favouring Biden over Trump by 81%-18%. It was 30,000 pro-Biden votes from the county, declared at about 9am on Friday, that overturned Trump’s state-wide lead, which on Tuesday night had looked impregnable.
The shift, potentially worth 20 electoral college votes, added vital momentum to the Democratic candidate’s push for the White House. The county is at the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement – it is about 43% African American and 45% white. Supporters were involved in protests against the police killings of George Floyd in Minnesota and a local man, Walter Wallace, who was shot in October.
Trump repeatedly dismissed nationwide BLM protests, insulted and mocked demonstrators, and sent troops to suppress them. Now they paid him back. Exit polls show African-Americans in Pennsylvania, representing 8% of all voters, backed Biden by 92%-6%. The Hispanic/Latino community, 4% of all voters, backed him by 78%-18%. Although the two minorities’ total numbers were relatively small, so was Biden’s margin of victory.
Clayton County, Georgia
Source: Elections - theguardian.com
