Former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenThe Hill’s Morning Report – Trump shifts his tone on coronavirusVoters to head to primary polls despite coronavirus pandemicHillicon Valley: HHS hit by cyberattack amid coronavirus outbreak | Senators urge FCC to shore up internet access for students | Sanders ramps up Facebook ad spending | Dems ask DHS to delay Real ID deadlineMORE is poised to take an insurmountable lead over Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s Morning Report – Trump shifts his tone on coronavirusVoters to head to primary polls despite coronavirus pandemicHillicon Valley: HHS hit by cyberattack amid coronavirus outbreak | Senators urge FCC to shore up internet access for students | Sanders ramps up Facebook ad spending | Dems ask DHS to delay Real ID deadlineMORE (I-Vt.) in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination after scoring decisive victories in Florida and Illinois on Tuesday.
Going into Tuesday night, Biden was already in command of the Democratic presidential race after running up the score against Sanders on Super Tuesday and in a handful of primaries last week. But with his victories in Florida and Illinois, there remains little doubt that he will be the nominee.
The biggest question looming over the Tuesday primaries in Florida, Illinois and Arizona is just how big of a delegate haul Biden will take.
Between the three states, some 441 delegates are up for grabs, in a night in which the voting took place with the country gripped by coronavirus fears. Arizona’s polls will close at 10 p.m. ET.
Sanders lost Florida, Illinois and Arizona during his 2016 primary bid against Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden should choose a Latina as his running mateThe Memo: Biden, Sanders hold unconventional debate amid coronavirus pandemicSanders seeks to move Biden toward his issues at debateMORE and his aides were largely expecting a repeat on Tuesday.Still, he is up against overwhelming odds if he hopes to catch Biden in the delegate race, and hes likely to face intense questions in the coming days about his future in the race and whether he should continue his campaign, amid likely pressure to help unite Democrats in their goal of defeating President TrumpDonald John TrumpThe Hill’s Morning Report – Trump shifts his tone on coronavirusSenators balance coronavirus action with risks to healthCoronavirus adds new element to rising US-Iran tensionsMORE.
Sanders is not mathematically eliminated from the race yet, but he has virtually no chance of heading into the Democratic National Convention in July with a delegate majority.
At the same time, Sanderss loss in Florida was even more pronounced than it was in 2016. Biden was on track to carry every one of the states 67 counties, including several that Sanders won four years ago.
In Florida, where 219 delegates are up for grabs, Biden leads Sanders by nearly 40 percentage points, or about 630,000 votes. He was the heavy favorite heading into the primary with polls showing him crushing his progressive rival by massive margins that in some cases exceeded 50 points.
With only 9 percent of precincts reporting in Illinois, Biden held a roughly 20-point lead over Sanders.Bidens wins in Florida and Illinois and an expected win in Arizona mark the third consecutive week in which the former vice president has trounced Sanders.
The primaries on Tuesday also came in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. One other state that was slated to vote on Tuesday, Ohio, postponed its nominating contest late Monday night amid concerns over the outbreak.
While voting continued as scheduled in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, it was not without drama. In Florida, officials scrambled to notify voters of polling site changes and closures and hundreds of precinct workers backed out. In Illinois, equipment delays led to long lines at other polling stations.
And in Arizona, officials moved to reduce the number of polling sites in Maricopa County to ensure that they would have adequate cleaning supplies and staff available.
Government and party officials in the three states touted high early and mail-in voting numbers, hoping that they would offset expectedly low primary day turnout.
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