The 3 BIG reasons behind Biden-Harris' historic win

After nearly 50 years in public office, and a lifetime of presidential ambitions, Joe Biden has captured the White House.

In his third try for the presidency, Biden and his team found a way to navigate the political obstacles and claim a victory that, while narrow in the electoral college tally, is projected to surpass Trump's overall national total by millions of votes.

COVID, COVID, COVID

One of the biggest reasons behind Joe Biden's victory is one out of his control.

The coronavirus pandemic, as well as claiming more than 230,000 lives, also transformed American life and politics in 2020.

A poll last month by Pew Research, suggested Biden held a 17 percentage point lead over Trump when it came to confidence about their handling of the Covid outbreak.

The pandemic also highlighted Trump's lack of planning and burst a bubble in his campaign message of growth and prosperity.

LOW-KEY CAMPAIGNING

Biden has never been known to be the orator that Barack Obama is. In fact, he has in the course of his political career, talked himself into trouble.

In his third try for the Oval Office, Biden still had his share of verbal stumbles, but they were sufficiently infrequent.

There was a concerted strategy by the Biden campaign to limit their candidate's exposure, keeping a measured pace in the campaign, and minimising the chances that fatigue or carelessness could create problems.

ANYONE BUT TRUMP

Biden bet his political fortunes on the contention that Trump was too polarising and too inflammatory, and what the American people wanted was calmer, steadier leadership. Biden's winning message was simply that he was "not Trump". A common refrain from Democrats was that a Biden victory meant Americas could go for weeks without thinking about politics. It was meant as a joke, but it contained a kernel of truth.

• US POLLS 2020