Photo: President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, in Prescott, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
The Center Square [By Cole Lauterbach]-
President Donald Trump gained thousands of more votes than former Vice President Joe Biden in a Wednesday evening entry of more than 70,000 votes from Maricopa County, Arizona’s population center and source of Democratic momentum.
After the latest entry of 74,547 votes from the Maricopa County Recorder’s office, Trump has reduced Biden’s lead by 12,644. Biden still leads Trump statewide by nearly 80,000 votes, but elections experts estimate there are still nearly 500,000 ballots yet to be counted.
The Associated Press had previously called the state for Biden at 12:50 a.m. Wednesday. The call brought pushback from Trump supporters who pointed out the large numbers of outstanding ballots left to count.
Biden led Trump Wednesday by fewer than 100,000 votes before the count was updated Wednesday evening. A survey of county elections offices by the Arizona Republic found, as of 11 a.m. Wednesday, at least 600,000 ballots had yet to be counted.
The Trump campaign made Arizona a priority in the weeks leading up to Election Day, with Trump and other surrogates holding more than a dozen rallies across the state. With a distinct money advantage, Biden dominated Trump in terms of ad spending.
Biden’s victory would signal a shift left due to a growing numbers of Californians relocating to the state.
