Biden strengthens lead in Democratic race with projected wins in Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi primaries

Joe Biden was projected to take Tuesday night’s biggest primary prize — Michigan — along with decisive wins in Missouri and Mississippi, dealing an early blow to rival Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on a night when six states were up for grabs. Celebrating his early victories, he told supporters near his Philadelphia campaign headquarters, it was “another good night” and “a step closer to restoring decency, dignity and honour to the White House.”

In a subdued tone, Biden reached out to supporters of struggling rival Bernie Sanders, thanking the Vermont senator and his following “for their tireless energy and their passion” and their common goal: to “beat Donald Trump.”

Back in 2016, Sanders scored an upset that lent much-needed credibility to his 2016 primary challenge of Hillary Clinton — and where U.S. President Donald Trump’s victory four years was so narrow that Democrats are desperate to show they have the strength to flip it back.

But Biden made a final push there in recent days, rallying autoworkers and touting a fresh round of high-profile endorsements.

Despite the early losses, Sanders could get a boost from North Dakota, Idaho or Washington state, where votes were still being counted. But his campaign announced Sanders would not speak publicly Tuesday night.

Adding to the tension of incoming results was fears about the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Both Sanders and Biden hastily cancelled events they’d scheduled for Tuesday night in Cleveland, and the Democratic National Committee announced that an upcoming debate in Arizona on Sunday would be held without a live audience “at the request of both campaigns and out of an abundance of caution.” Tuesday marked the first time voters weighed in on the Democratic contest since it effectively narrowed to a two-person race between Sanders and Biden. It was a test of whether Sanders can broaden his appeal among African Americans after earlier setbacks in the South. Biden, meanwhile, sought to show that he can keep momentum going after his surprise Super Tuesday turnaround.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard remains in the race, but has only two delegates so far. She has not qualified for the Sunday debate.

Biden now frequently ticks off the names of six former presidential rivals who have endorsed him just in the past week, saying he is “the candidate that they think can win.” The former vice-president has campaigned in recent days with two of them, Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, and appeared with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. All three have have been mentioned as possible vice presidential picks. Following Biden’s strong showing Tuesday night, former candidate Andrew Yang also added his name to the Biden endorsement list.

With 125 delegates at stake, Michigan got most of the attention Tuesday. Trump won the state by only about 10,000 votes during the general election in 2016, and Democrats are eager to take it back............