Biden says his hopes remain high, tells supporters to ‘keep the faith’

Joe Biden is asking his supporters to “keep the faith” as the counting goes on in the drawn-out US presidential election.

The Democratic presidential candidate emerges 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 tells a gathering of supporters that his hopes for victory remain high despite the uncertainty and cautions them that it could take a day or longer to know who won.

He tells 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.

— AP