Biden bounces back

Former Obama VP claims key wins but Sanders stays strong

HE STARTED as favourite before months of anaemic campaigning and a fired-up field of moderate challengers plunged him to also-ran status, but Democratic standard bearer Joe Biden has cemented his comeback.

In his third run for the presidential nomination in a lifelong political career, Mr Biden took sweeping victories in Super Tuesday states where he was written off just days ago. But the race to be the Democrat who takes on US President Donald Trump is by no means over, with socialist candidate Bernie Sanders winning California and fighting for top position in Texas.

Tens of millions of Americans in 14 states turned out for the Super Tuesday primaries, the biggest 2020 election date so far, where a third of potential delegates, which decide who will be the party’s nominee, were to be awarded. Mr Biden’s candidacy received a monumental boost last weekend with the popular former Obama administration vice president’s decisive victory in the South Carolina primary.

Propelled in South Carolina by an endorsement from prominent black leader Jim Clyburn, Mr Biden rode a wave of African-american support, winning southern states including North Carolina, Arkansas,

Alabama and Tennessee. The last-minute endorsement from his former moderate challengers, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, also helped cement his victory in Minnesota and Oklahoma.

He also won Massachusetts, the home state of progressive candidate Elizabeth Warren, who was on track to come third to Mr Sanders and will be under increasing pressure to withdraw from the race.

Mr Sanders told supporters at a rally in his home state of Vermont he had no doubt his “movement” would continue.

“I tell you with absolute certainly that we are going to win the Democratic nomination and we are going to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country,” Mr Sanders said.

A jubilant Mr Biden said: “It’s a good night, and it seems to be getting even better.”