PHOENIX — President Trump narrowed his gap with Joe Biden in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to fewer than 30,000 votes Friday, a pickup of about 17,000 since late Thursday.
Those numbers were announced Friday evening as county recorders chip away at the approximately 165,000 ballots still to be counted in the state. Updates were expected through the night.
It remained to be seen if there are enough Trump ballots to close the gap. He would need about 58% of what’s left to overtake Biden in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. The tallies announced as of Friday evening were not coming in at that rate for the president.
GOP officials said they are weighing legal options if the final count does not put Trump over the top here.
At a press briefing Friday, they did not identify anything they contend is being done wrong, however. Nor would they spell out any legal theory they have to challenge the results if the final count does not go their way.
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Instead, the Trump campaign is counting on everything working out the way the GOP expects without the need for litigation, said Matt Whitaker, a former acting U.S. attorney general who now is working with the campaign.
State GOP Chair Kelli Ward also said she is preaching calm even as Republicans gather nightly at Maricopa County offices where votes are being tallied, chanting, “count the votes.†Ward and other party officials also have attended.
