Biden continues to expand lead
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden swept to easy victories in Florida and Illinois on Tuesday, increasingly pulling away with a Democratic presidential primary upended by coronavirus and building pressure on Bernie Sanders to abandon his campaign.
The former vice president’s third big night in as many weeks came amid tremendous uncertainty confronting the Democratic contest as it collides with efforts to slow the spread of the virus that have shut down large swaths of American
life. Polls were shuttered in Ohio, and although balloting went ahead in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, election workers and voters reported problems.
Biden’s quest for his party’s nomination now seems within reach. He needs less than half of the remaining delegates to become the nominee. The party establishment has increasingly lined up behind him, meanwhile, as the best option in November to try and unseat President Donald Trump.
“Our campaign has had a very good night and is a little closer to securing the Democratic nomination,” Biden said after his latest two primary victories.
Also Tuesday, Trump formally clinched the Republican presidential nomination against minimal opposition — a measure of good if not unexpected news for a White House trying to cope with the public health and economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus.
Results aside, the Democratic primary has remained largely in limbo, with rallies and big events canceled. That has given Sanders, whose pathway to the nomination has greatly narrowed, even less room to maneuver, unable to convene the large crowds across the country that are his trademark.
Some Democrats are now calling on him to leave the race in the name of party unity. But Sanders made no mention of that Tuesday night in a livestream to supporters. The Vermont senator has instead promoted calls for universal, government-funded health care under his signature “Medicare for All” plan. Top advisers say he’s betting that the national political landscape could look different as the virus continues to reshape life across the country.
During the coronavirus outbreak, “We must make sure everyone who has a job right now receives the paychecks they need,” Sanders said in an online appearance that started before Tuesday’s polls had even closed.
Biden maintained the strength with African Americans and older voters that has been the hallmark of his campaign but also appeared to chip away at Sanders’ previous advantage with Hispanics that helped him win Nevada and California early in the race. In Florida, Latinos were roughly 20% of Democratic
primary voters, and they largely sided with Biden, with the former vice president getting the support of 65% of Puerto Rican voters and 56% of Cubans, according to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of voters.
Turnout in Florida’s Democratic primary was higher than it was four years ago, when 1.7 million voters cast ballots. This time, turnout was on pace to approach 2 million. Still, reports of havoc wreaked by the coronavirus dominated the day.
Officials in Ohio took the unprecedented step of closing polls Monday, mere hours before they were set to open, pushing back the state’s primary until June.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez blasted the move for breeding “more chaos and confusion” and sought to head off more states taking similar actions, urging those with upcoming primaries to expand vote-by-mail and absentee balloting, as well as polling station hours.
The fear is that the spread of the coronavirus derails his party’s nomination contest.
“The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and we must do everything we can to protect and expand that right instead of bringing our democratic process to a halt,” Perez said in a statement.
The damage, though, may already have been done. Four other states — Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky and Maryland — have already moved to push back their upcoming primaries, and others may yet do so. That has left the Democratic primary calendar empty until March 29, when Puerto Rico is scheduled to go to the polls — but island leaders are working to reschedule balloting there, too.
That means, there is nowhere for Sanders to gain ground on Biden anytime soon, even if he could find a way to mount a sudden surge.