Joe Biden's election win leaves Republicans divided as Trump refuses to accept defeat

Republicans in the United States appear to be divided on the projected win by President-elect Joe Biden even as President Donald Trump refused to accept defeat and claimed widespread voter fraud.

While some Grand Old Party (GOP) lawmakers were more accepting of Biden's lead on Sunday, others supported Trump's narrative of voter fraud, calling for legal challenges by his campaign.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah congratulated Biden on his win on Saturday, although he said that Trump will 'keep on fighting until the very end'. "You're not going to change the nature of President Trump in these last days, apparently, of his presidency," Romney said.

Soon after Biden was projected to be the next US President, Trump refused to accept defeat, saying that the election was "far from over", and promised legal challenges by his re-election campaign.

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Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan said on Sunday that though any potential evidence of widespread voter fraud should be released, but it would not reverse the projected election results.

"There are legal processes if you think there are mistakes, but I don't think we're going to see anything that's going to overturn this election," said Hogan.

Senator Pat Toomey also said that the media channels were 'probably correct' to declare Joe winner of the election but stated that there was a reason for the counting of votes.

Earlier, former President George W Bush also called Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, congratulating them on election victory. He also congratulated Trump for a hard-fought election.

"The people have spoken, and their voices will continue to be heard through elected Republicans at every level of government," Bush said.

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Other leaders allege illegal activities

Donald Trump's campaign has filed several lawsuits against the election results in a few battleground states. The President had spent months making unsubstantiated claims that mail-in ballots could open the election up to fraud.

On the other hand, Senator Roy Blunt refused to acknowledge Biden's victory and said it is time for Trump to present ‘facts’, referring to allegations of voter fraud by the President. GOP South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem claimed that the Democrat’s win was the result of 'illegal activities'.

She alleged 'computer glitches' and reports of 'dead people voting in Pennsylvania' were examples of widespread fraud. "When you break the process on which we elect our leaders, you will break America forever," she said.

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Manwhile, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader said, "Every legal challenge should be heard. Then and only then will America decide who won the race." Likewise, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina urged Trump not to concede and fight hard.

Several other Republican leaders and lawmakers, including Vice President Mike Pence, have refrained from making comments on Biden's win, which has left Trump to protest against the poll results without the full vocal support of his party members.

Joe Biden defeated Trump in a closely contested election, becoming the 46th president of the United States. At 78, he is the oldest person elected President in the history of the country. In his third attempt at the White House, Biden, a four-decade Senator and then a vice president, received over 74 million votes, which is four million more than Trump, and more than any other presidential candidate.

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(With inputs from agency)