BIDEN ON TICKET
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden clinched the nomination at a “difficult time in America’s history.”
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden has formally clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, setting him up for a bruising challenge to President Donald Trump that will play out against the unprecedented backdrop of a pandemic, economic collapse and civil unrest.
“It was an honor to compete alongside one of the most talented groups of candidates the Democratic party has ever fielded,” Biden said in a statement Friday night, “and I am proud to say that we are going into this general election a united party.”
The former vice president has effectively been his party’s leader since his last challenger in the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders, ended his campaign in April. Biden pulled together the 1,991 delegates needed to become the nominee Friday after seven states and the District of Columbia held presidential primaries Tuesday.
Biden reached the threshold three days after the primaries because several states, overwhelmed by increases in mail ballots, took days to tabulate results.
Biden has 2,000 delegates, with contests still to come in eight states and two U.S. territories.
The moment was met with little of the traditional fanfare as the nation confronts overlapping crises.
“This is a difficult time in America’s history,” Biden said Friday. “And Donald Trump’s angry, divisive politics is no answer. The country is crying out for leadership.”
This is 77-year-old Biden’s third bid for the presidency and his success in capturing the Democratic nomination was driven by strong support from black voters.
He finished fourth in the overwhelmingly white Iowa caucuses that kicked off the nomination process in February.
His rebound began in the more diverse caucuses in Nevada but solidified in South Carolina, where Biden stomped Sanders by nearly 29 points. He followed with a dominant showing during the Super Tuesday contests.
Biden’s strong showing in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas reinforced his status as the preferred Democratic candidate of African American voters — but the relationship has not been without its strained moments. Biden took sharp criticism for suggesting that African American voters still deciding between him and Trump “ain’t black.”
That comment, and nationwide protests, have increased pressure on Biden to pick an African American running mate.