Washington, Dec 11 (IANS): US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been named Time magazine's 'Person of the Year', for offering "restoration and renewal in a single ticket".

The magazine made the announcement on its Twitter page late Thursday night.

Biden and Harris ran in one of the most contentious presidential races in American history, which saw a record number of voters turn out amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that continues to rage across the country, The Hill news outlet said in a report.

The former Vice President won 51.3 per cent of the popular vote, garnering 81.2 million over incumbent President Donald Trump's 74.2 million votes, according to tallies from the Cook Political Report.

Biden and Harris beat three other finalists: frontline healthcare workers and America's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci; the racial justice movement; and President Trump, the BBC reported.

In a statement, Time's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote: "For changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year."

Biden is the 10th President-elect to achieve the title, but his selection marks the first time a President-elect and Vice President-elect have shared the cover together, The Hill news reported.

Former Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford are the only US Presidents never named "Person of the Year".

Every year, Time chooses a person, a group, an idea or an object that "for better or for worse" has had the most impact on the events over the 12 months.

Biden and Harris are scheduled to take office after their inauguration on January 20, 2021.