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In preparing to write the opening paragraph for this column I was struggling to condense a mountain of data and random thoughts about the presidential election into a succinct recap. Then I read Pulitzer Prize-winning author for distinguished commentary Peggy Noonan’s column in the Nov. 5 issue of the Wall Street Journal.
“Divided nation, divided outcome. Votes are still being counted, nothing is certain, but it looks as if Joe Biden will win the presidency, closely. The Republicans will hold the Senate, closely, and pick up some seats in the House. A moderate outcome: divided government.”
I agree. Well stated. I hope you’ll read Noonan’s full column, “America chooses divided government” at WSJ.com.
Most readers know the media have already declared the Biden/Harris team winners of this election. Biden himself has declared victory and is being referred to as president-elect Biden.
But the media and self-proclamations aren’t the final authorities in these matters. As of presstime, ballots are still being counted in states that have close vote totals. There likely will be some recounts due to the closeness of the count. For example, as of Nov. 10 at 11 p.m., the vote totals in seven states were:
◗ Pennsylvania: Biden, already declared the winner, leads by 45,673 votes out of 6,697,743 cast with an estimated 98% of the vote in and 116,833 remaining ballots to count. (20 electoral votes)
◗ Arizona: Biden leads by 12,813 votes out of 3,297,571 cast with an estimated 98% of the vote in and 51,242 remaining ballots to count. (11 electoral votes)
◗ Georgia: Biden leads by 14,149 votes out of 4,929,615 cast with an estimated 99% of the vote in and 32,876 remaining ballots to count. (16 electoral votes)
◗ North Carolina: Trump leads by 74,870 votes out of 5,394,394 cast with an estimated 98% of the vote in and 134,153 remaining ballots to count. (15 electoral votes)
◗ Nevada: Biden, already declared the winner, leads by 36,726 votes out of 1,306128 cast with an estimated 98% of the vote in and 33,593 remaining ballots to count. (6 electoral votes)
◗ Wisconsin: Biden, already declared the winner, leads by 20,539 votes out of 3,240,599 cast with an estimated 99% of the vote in and 27,527 remaining ballots to count. (10 electoral votes)
◗ Alaska: Trump leads by 47,767 votes out of 230,761 cast with only an estimated 75% of the vote in and 126,766 remaining ballots to count. (3 electoral votes)
I’m not alleging fraud anywhere. I’ll leave that to others to allege and prove or disprove. But no matter what side of the aisle you’re on, you have to admit this race is amazingly close—much closer than many expected. There will be winners and losers, but there will be no mandate.
So, what’s next? Vote total challenges and recounts will need to run their course. Then the vote totals won’t be official until each state certifies its election results. The dates for certification vary by state.
Finally, the Monday after the second Wednesday in December, electoral college electors cast their votes. That means we should have final confirmation on Dec. 14.
And where do we go from here if Biden prevails as is projected? We’ll continue to be a divided nation with a divided government. And, like it or not, the 77 million people who voted for Biden/Harris and the 72 million people who voted for Trump/Pence are going to need to find a way to speak to each other with civility and work together if we’re going to get anything positive accomplished.
Thanks for voting and for reading and supporting IBJ. God bless the United States of America.•
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Morris is publisher of IBJ. His column appears every other week. To comment on this column, send email to gmorris@ibj.com.
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I wish IBJ reflected the balance you suggest, Mr. Morris. As it is, it is tilting so far left that I am allowing my subscription to expire, rather than face the frustration of a magazine that is 75% liberal and 25% (if that much) conservative. In one recent issue of Forefront, there was one pro-Trump editorial and either three or four anti-Trump editorials; not good.
Bob, just to clarify, IBJ doesn’t publish editorials in Forefront. Forefront features columns by individuals.
Wow… Bob P trolls a lots of the media posts, and I would have to say he so far right, he can’t even see that this editorial has a right leaning slant.
I would like to ask Greg if, 4 years ago, Hillary and Obama choose to play this same stupid games that are being played now, what would your opinion be?
As for a country divided, you are helping a master persuader (Trump) fan the flames of anger and angst by supporting the President’s narrative. Biden is now President Elect and no matter what Trump can say or do at this point is all bluff and lies. This is part of a pattern of big lies that has continued through out the Trump administration. Trump makes an outrageous statement, like COVID is a hoax and Republicans go along with it because it will anger and energize voters. The Media (social, broadcast, or news) go along with it because it generates clicks on views. This worked all the way up until a Pandemic (see your front page story for 11/13/2020. Now we have people dying over political statements and you are willing to fracture our democracy because you don’t want to state the truth.
The worst part of the whole big lie is that main stream media, is all fake news, so there is no way to actually reach somebody like Bob P to convince him he is being duped.
The big story is not the election or COVID, but that the american public is being lied to for political and financial gains.