Biden and Sanders to face off today in six primaries

For the first time this election cycle, there will only be two viable Democratic candidates on the ballot in a string of Tuesday primaries that carry major implications for the remainder of the race.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, the last two White House hopefuls with a realistic shot at claiming the nomination, will face off in Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Washington, Idaho and North Dakota — the primary season’s second largest round of consecutive voting.

Michigan is the biggest prize of the night, with 125 pledged delegates up for grabs.

The Great Lake State, which will be a crucial battleground in the general election matchup against President Donald Trump, has emerged as a political barometer, and the two Democratic frontrunners have made no bones about the importance of its primary.

But Michigan is mostly Sanders’ race to lose.

The left-wing Vermont senator, who won Michigan’s 2016 primary, suggested as much while speaking with reporters in Detroit over the weekend.

“Every state is terribly important, and I think coming Tuesday, maybe Michigan is the most important state,” he said.

A poll from the Detroit Free Press released Monday may be cause for concern for Sanders, as it put Biden in the lead in the state by a 24-point margin.

The second-biggest prize Tuesday is Washington, which offers up 89 delegates.

The rapidly spreading coronavirus has hit Washington harder than any other state in the country.

Local officials are anxious that the outbreak could result in low turnout — a prospect that would likely hurt Sanders, who expressed disappointment last week that young people did not cast as many ballots as he had hoped on Super Tuesday.

In Illinois, officials are expecting a spike in early voting ahead of their March 17 primary over fears of the virus, which has killed at least 22 people in the U.S. and infected more than 500.

Sanders, who regularly attracts large rally crowds, said over the weekend that his campaign is assessing whether to cancel major public events in light of the virus.

In total, Tuesday’s six primaries offer up 352 delegates. Nearly one-half of all delegates will have been awarded when all is said and done.

Riding high on his victories in 10 out of last week’s 14 Super Tuesday contests, Biden spent part of this past weekend campaigning in Mississippi, a state he’s virtually certain to win.