Former US president Joe Biden scored decisive victories in all three major Democratic primaries held on Tuesday, earning him a nearly insurmountable lead over US Senator Bernie Sanders in their race for the party’s presidential nomination.
As the US grappled with combating the spreading coronavirus pandemic, voters handed Biden victory in delegate-rich Florida, as well as Illinois and Arizona.
The command performance speaks to the eagerness of many Democrats to coalesce around a moderate flag bearer, to challenge US President Donald Trump, after several other candidates dropped out of the contest in recent weeks and endorsed Biden.
Photo: AFP
In Florida, the 77-year-old won 62 percent to 23 percent against Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described “democratic socialist” senator.
Biden was ahead by 23 percentage points in Illinois, with 89 percent of precincts reporting.
In Arizona, where polls closed last, Biden was coasting to a third definitive win — and his 19th victory in the past 24 contests.
“Our campaign has had a very good night,” Biden said in televised remarks from his home in Delaware. “We’ve moved closer to securing the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, and we’re doing it by building a broad coalition that we need to win in November.”
Following a string of victories in high-profile contests starting with South Carolina late last month, and continuing into Tuesday, Biden now has a commanding lead in the all-important race for the delegates needed to become the nominee.
Political analyst David Axelrod concluded that Sanders was a mortally wounded candidate.
“No Dem has ever come back from anything like this deficit,” tweeted Axelrod, chief strategist for former US president Barack Obama’s two successful presidential campaigns. “The race for the nomination is over. That is the reality @BernieSanders faces.”
Biden’s delegate count on Tuesday stood at 1,147 compared with Sanders’ 861, according to a New York Times rolling tally. A candidate needs 1,991 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination and face Trump in the November election.
Ohio, was scheduled to vote on Tuesday, but postponed its elections until June on the orders of Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican who told voters to stay home during the escalating public health emergency.
Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez blasted Ohio’s unprecedented move for breeding “more chaos and confusion.”
He sought to head off more states from taking similar actions, urging those with upcoming primaries to expand vote-by-mail and absentee balloting, as well as polling station hours.
The Ohio Democratic Party on Tuesday afternoon sued Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose over his decision to set a new primary date, saying that power rests only with the state legislature.
Meanwhile, Sanders drew 5.3 million views at three online events, with the help of friends like Neil Young, dwarfing the numbers of those watching Biden’s tele-town hall on Monday about the pandemic.
On Saturday, he hosted a “fireside chat” livestreamed from his home in Burlington, Vermont, that his campaign said was viewed more than 2.8 million times.
He picked up another 1 million views with an hour-long policy video program, and racked up 1.6 million views with a “digital rally” on Monday that featured appearances by Young, actress Daryl Hannah and the Free Nationals.
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