Biden extends his commanding lead over Sanders
What happened
Pressure mounted on Sen. Bernie Sanders to exit the Democratic presidential race this week, after Joe Biden accelerated his march to the nomination with decisive wins in three major primaries. The former vice president trounced Sanders in Florida, winning 62 percent of the vote to Sanders’ 23 percent, and won by wide margins in Illinois and Arizona. In Ohio, where Biden was a heavy favorite, Gov. Mike DeWine postponed the primary at the eleventh hour over coronavirus concerns. The wins, part of a three-week streak that has given Biden a delegate lead of 1,132 to 817, makes it all but impossible for Sanders to reach the 1,991 delegates needed to secure the party nomination. In Florida, Sanders failed to win even a single county; in Illinois, where Sanders took nearly half the vote in 2016, he had won only one out of 102 counties as The Week went to press. Still, Sanders made no move to concede; his campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said in the coming weeks Sanders would be “having conversations with supporters to assess his campaign.”
The coronavirus loomed large over the primary contests, with both candidates avoiding public appearances. Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, and Kentucky have all pushed back their primaries, and a postponement is being sought in Puerto Rico, where the next contest was to be held on March 29. The likelihood of the process stretching through June, and the complications that the pandemic poses at the ballot box added fuel to the calls for Sanders to quit. “It’s over,” said Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia. “This is the adult thing to do—knowing when it is time to disappear.”
What the editorials said
Sanders is finished, said the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sun-Sentinel. The numbers from this week’s primaries “make clear the breadth and depth of Biden’s support against Sanders,” who’s being beaten in nearly every demographic, from union members to suburban women. The democratic socialist claimed he could energize the young and bring disaffected voters into the fold, but the numbers have proved him wrong again and again. He should now rally his loyal base behind Biden and focus on getting President Trump out of office. “That change would be revolution enough.”
Faced with inevitable defeat, most candidates would gracefully quit, said the Washington Examiner. “Of course, Sanders is no ordinary candidate.” He’s an ideological crusader who “sees his campaign as a vehicle to carry on his socialist message.” But “such a campaign is harder to justify now given that the nation is in the midst of staving off a pandemic.” Is he really going to urge people to come out and vote for his losing candidacy when health experts are urging them to stay home?
What the columnists said
Sanders has a powerful reason to stay in the race, said Holly Otterbein and David Siders in Politico.com. Even if winning is hopeless, by “amassing as many delegates as possible” he’ll be able to influence the party platform at the Democratic convention in July. And the coronavirus crisis gives Sanders the perfect opportunity to spread his political message, said Jason Linkins in NewRepublic.com. It puts a spotlight on the “cracks in American society” he assails on the stump, “from the yawning gaps in our health-care system to the precariousness of America’s working class.”
The pandemic offers Sanders another way to exert influence—by returning to Washington, said Jeet Heer in TheNation.com. Congress is racing to build an economic stimulus package, and with a large national audience and a raft of substantial proposals, “Sanders is well poised to take a leadership role.” The presidency may be out of reach, but his policies for dealing with the crisis—free testing and treatment, a moratorium on evictions, a suspension of mortgages and utility payments—“could be pushed through right now.”
“What comes next is one giant question mark,” said Shane Goldmacher in The New York Times. Restrictions on large gatherings across the nation mean most future primaries “are in limbo.” Will states allow mail balloting, as the Democratic National Committee is urging? How will turnout be affected? For now, all Biden can do is “hope that the next time voters go to the polls, he will be the only candidate still running.”