CLEAN SWEEP
JOE TOPS BERN IN ALL 3 PRIMARIES—
Joe Biden is mopping the floor with Bernie Sanders.
Biden supporters defied fears over the coronavirus and delivered blowout victories for the ex-vice president in three primaries Tuesday, bringing him within grasp of the Democratic presidential nomination and turning up the heat on Sanders to concede the race.
Seconds after polls closed, Biden was declared the winner of Florida’s 219-delegate primary — the biggest prize of the night — by a crushing 40% margin over Sanders.
Minutes later, Biden won in the 115-delegate Illinois primary by double-digits before also claiming Arizona’s contest, where another 67 delegates were at stake.
Having already won 10 primaries on Super Tuesday and another five elections last week, Biden’s nomination now appears a near-certainty as he pulls ahead in the delegate count.
Speaking via video feed from his home in Wilmington, Biden lauded poll workers for showing up to work despite the worsening coronavirus, which has upended large portions of American life and forced thousands of people into quarantine.
“It’s important for us to get through this crisis, protecting both public health and our democracy,” Biden said, noting he didn’t hold an election night rally to comply with federal recommendations to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.
He also extended an olive branch to Sanders, whose onetime front-running campaign has dwindled as AfricanAmerican and white workingclass voters have come out in droves for the former vice president.
“Senator Sanders and his supporters have brought a remarkable passion and tenacity,” Biden said. “Together they have shifted the fundamental conversation in this country. So let me say especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Senator Sanders: I hear you. I know what’s at stake. I know what we have to do.”
Sanders effectively has no viable path to the nomination in light of Tuesday’s stinging defeats.
As the disappointing results trickled in, Sanders called for an “aggressive” federal coronavirus response in a livestreamed speech from his Capitol Hill office — without once mentioning the evening’s elections.
“We already have a major, major crisis,” Sanders said before proposing a series of drastic measures, including a monthly $2,000 government subsidy to every U.S. household for the duration of the pandemic. “We must make certain that this health and economic crisis is not another money-making opportunity for corporate America and for Wall Street.”
In an apparent pivot to his day job, the left-wing Vermont senator said he would soon present his legislative framework to Senate leadership, as Congress continues to work on an economic relief package for Americans forced out of work by the virus.
In Florida, Democratic voters came out in historic numbers despite the pandemic, with more than 2.2 million Floridians casting ballots, according to exit polls. That’s compared to roughly 1.7 million votes in the 2016 primary.
The Democratic turnout boost could spell trouble for President Trump, who won the crucial Sunshine State battleground by a slim margin in the 2016 general election.
Earlier in the day, Biden advisers were anxious about the possibility of low turnout among older voters, who tend to support the ex-veep but are also at the highest risk of suffering severe symptoms from the fast-spreading virus.
Biden campaign aide Michael Gwin breathed a sigh of relief after the Florida and Illinois results landed.
“Even in the midst of unprecedented challenges, enDelaware,
thusiasm for Joe Biden is driving turnout through the roof,” Gwin tweeted.
The virus has added a layer of alarm to mounting calls for Sanders to drop out and endorse Biden.
The Tuesday results are expected to amplify those calls, as states consider canceling primaries to avoid the risk of community spread.
Sanders did not immediately offer an update on the future of his campaign.
Biden's Tuesday sweep netted him more than 200 new pledged delegates, putting him above the 1,100-delegate threshold. Sanders is stuck below the 900-delegate mark.
A candidate needs 1,991 delegates to win, and many of the remaining primaries are expected to lean in Biden's favor, including New York's delegate-rich contest on April 28.
Ohio was supposed to also hold a primary Tuesday, but Republican state leaders stepped in and postponed it in the last minute over fears of the virus, which has infected nearly 6,000 people across all 50 sates and killed at least 107 so far.
Four other states — Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky and Maryland — have also pushed back their primaries.
Still, Democratic Party brass wasn't happy about the 11th-hour cancellation in Ohio.
“What happened in Ohio last night has only bred more chaos and confusion,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement, urging states to make primaries “safer and easier” by allowing mail-in and early voting instead of canceling them.
Though the other primaries went ahead as planned, there were plenty of hiccups in Florida and Illinois.
In the Florida Panhandle's Okaloosa County, dozens of poll workers didn't show up for duty, leaving local election leaders scrambling to find replacements. In Palm Beach County, a whopping 800 volunteers didn't show, and local officials reported they only found 100 replacements.
Meanwhile, in the small Chicago suburb of Burbank, polling booths gaped empty, and officials said only 18 people had voted as of Tuesday morning — an unusually low turnout.
Biden's stunning electoral resurgence is nearly unmatched in U.S. political history.
The former veep — who was the undisputed front-runner in most polls last year — looked like he was down for the count as campaign donors deserted him after bruising losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
But, buoyed by a surge of support from African-Americans, Biden overwhelmingly won the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29.
He officially reclaimed his front-runner status after winning 10 contests in this month's first Super Tuesday. Last week, he added Washington, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho to his list of primary victories.
Biden's latest feat further seals the deal and all but guarantees that he will take on Trump in November's general election.