Nearly 80% of Americans say Biden won, but only half of Republicans

Nearly 80 percent of Americans, but only just over half of Republicans, recognize that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 US presidential election, according to a poll published Tuesday.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 79% of adults in the US say that Biden won the November 3 election, 13% say the election has not yet been decided, 3% say US President Donald Trump won and 5% say they do not know.

The poll found a division in responses along party lines — around six in 10 Republicans and almost every Democrat said Biden won.

The question was asked as part of a wider survey conducted Friday to Tuesday and included responses before the presidential race was called on Saturday. It gathered responses from 1,363 American adults, including 469 respondents who took the poll between Saturday afternoon and Tuesday, and had a 5% margin of error.

The survey showed 70% of Americans — 83% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans — said that they trust their local election officials to “do their job honestly,” and that 72% of respondents believe the loser of the presidential election should concede defeat.

According to the survey, 60% of people in the United States think there will be a peaceful transition of power to Biden when Trump’s presidential term ends in January.

Trump has declined to concede the presidential race and is mounting unfounded legal fights in several states. There has been no indication or evidence of voter irregularities or widespread fraud in the election.

The president’s refusal to accept the results means the election disputes could drag for weeks as states certify their tallies or last till mid-December, when the Electoral College is set to vote.

The delay has the potential to upend civic norms, impede Biden’s transition to the White House and sow doubt in the nation’s civic and election systems.

Most Republicans are refusing to congratulate Biden or declining to push Trump to accept the outcome, trying to portray his refusal to accept the election results as an ordinary part of the process, even as it’s nothing short of extraordinary.

Biden, taking questions from reporters in Delaware on Tuesday, called the president’s refusal to concede an “embarrassment.”

“How can I say this tactfully?” Biden said. “I think it will not help the president’s legacy.”

Biden said he understands Trump voters’ “sense of loss.” But he said, “They understand we have to come together…We can pull the country out of this bitter politics.”