WASHINGTON: Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday predicted a US election win over President Donald Trump after pivotal victories in Michigan and Wisconsin, while the Republican incumbent sought to offset a narrowing path to re-election with lawsuits and demands for a recount.

Victories in those Midwestern states gave Biden, a former vice president who has spent five decades in public life, a critical boost in the race to obtain 270 electoral votes in the state-by-state Electoral College needed to win the White House.

Trump, who won both states in 2016, now has fewer options to secure a second four-year term. With the count still under way, he has falsely declared victory, accused the Democrats of trying to steal the election and vowed to fight the states in court.

"It's clear that we're winning enough states to reach (the) 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency," Biden, appearing with his running mate Kamala Harris, said in his home state of Delaware. "I'm not here to declare that we've won. But I am here to report that when the count is finished we believe we will be the winners."