Sophia Michaels
Joe Biden romped in South Carolina. He romped on Super Tuesday. If he romps this Tuesday as seven more states cast their ballots in the Democratic primary, he’ll have all but secured the nomination, completing one of the most remarkable electoral turnarounds in recent political history — and maybe ever.
Bernie Sanders was the race’s clear frontrunner following impressive performances in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, amassing 45 delegates to Biden’s 15. Biden took a bite out of that lead with a resounding victory in South Carolina, but it’s what happened in the 48 hours following that victory that seems to have transformed the primary. Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar both dropped out of the race and threw their support behind Biden — long-departed candidate Beto O’Rourke did as well — and Biden won big enough on Super Tuesday to secure a 670-574 delegate lead (1,991 delegates are needed to secure the nomination).
Mike Bloomberg hitched himself to the Biden train the following day and was soon joined by Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, who have otherwise stayed out of the campaign spotlight since exiting the race earlier this year. With the full weight of the Democratic establishment behind him, Biden seemed unstoppable, especially considering Elizabeth Warren, who dropped out of the race last week, has refrained from endorsing Sanders, her fellow progressive.
Tuesday’s biggest prize is Michigan’s 125 delegates. Both Biden and Sanders campaigned heavily in the state, with Sanders canceling a recent appearance in Mississippi to spend more time there. (That was before both campaigns, on Tuesday, cancelled rallies over Coronavirus concerns.) Though Biden trailed Sanders by more than 10 points just a week ago, polling averages had Biden leading in Michigan by over 20 points going into primary day.
That didn’t bode well for Sanders, who was in desperate need of a momentum swing and trails Biden by similar margins in other key states voting Tuesday and next week. (In Florida, which votes next week and is responsible for 219 delegates, Biden leads his progressive rival by more than 35 percentage points.) Sanders was able to overcome a large polling deficit to upset Hillary Clinton in Michigan in 2016 but he appears to have fallen well short this time, which may have been his last chance to turn around his 2020 campaign.
Here’s a rundown of the results from the latest round of Democratic primary voting:
IDAHO
Projected Winner: TBD
Key Stat: TBD
Delegates Available: 20
MICHIGAN
Projected Winner: Joe Biden
Key Stats: Exit polls conducted by NBC News showed Biden winning 66 percent of black voters in Michigan, with just 29 percent voting for Sanders.
Delegates Available: 125
MISSOURI
Projected Winner: Joe Biden
Key Stat: Biden won Missouri with overwhelming support from voters over 45 — a whopping 70 percent of the state’s electorate. Older Missourians preferred his candidacy to Sanders’ 71 percent to 27 percent. Voters age 44 and younger preferred Sanders at similar rates: 68 percent to 21 percent.
Delegates Available: 68
MISSISSIPPI
Projected Winner: Joe Biden
Key Stat: A vast majority of black voters — 84 percent — supported Biden on Tuesday, according to exit polls, and black voters over 60 were nearly unanimous in their choice: 94 percent of them preferred the former vice president, a scant three percent cast votes for the Vermont senator.
Delegates Available: 36
NORTH DAKOTA
Projected Winner: TBD
Key Stat: TBD
Delegates Available: 14
WASHINGTON
Projected Winner: TBD
Key Stats: TBD
Delegates Available: 89
This post will be updated live as results become available.
Featured via: Rollingstone
