bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Joe Biden scored decisive victories in all three major Democratic primaries Tuesday, earning him a nearly insurmountable lead over rival Bernie Sanders in their race for the party’s presidential nomination.
As the United States grappled with combating the spreading coronavirus pandemic, voters handed the former vice-president victory in delegate-rich Florida, as well as Illinois and Arizona.
The command performance speaks to the eagerness of many Democrats to coalesce around a moderate flag bearer, to challenge Republican President Donald Trump, after several other candidates dropped out of the contest in recent weeks and endorsed Biden.
In Florida, the 77-year-old won 62 per cent to 23 per cent against Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described “democratic socialist” senator from Vermont.
Biden and Sanders: would either be a better leader than Trump in a crisis?
Biden was ahead by 23 percentage points in Illinois, with 89 per cent of precincts reporting.
And in Arizona, where polls closed last, Biden was coasting to a third definitive win – and his 19th victory in the last 24 contests.
“Our campaign has had a very good night,” Biden said in televised remarks from his home in Delaware.
“We’ve moved closer to securing the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, and we’re doing it by building a broad coalition that we need to win in November.”

By all accounts it is an astonishing reversal of fortune for Biden, whose campaign was left for dead just one month ago after poor showings in early voting states.
But following a string of victories in high-profile contests starting with South Carolina in late February, and continuing into his show of strength Tuesday, Biden now has a commanding lead in the all-important race for the delegates needed to become the nominee.
Why a Biden nomination is unlikely to reassure China
Political analyst David Axelrod concluded that Sanders was a mortally wounded candidate.
“No Dem has ever come back from anything like this deficit,” tweeted Axelrod, chief strategist for Barack Obama’s two successful presidential campaigns.
“The race for the nomination is over. That is the reality @BernieSanders faces.”

On Tuesday Biden’s delegate count stood at 1,147 compared to Sanders’s 861, according to a New York Times rolling tally. A candidate needs 1,991 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination and face Trump in the November election.
Biden has long said that Americans want pragmatic results, not the political “revolution” advocated by Sanders.
But he reached out on Tuesday by appealing to Sanders supporters.
“To young voters who have been inspired by Senator Sanders, I hear you,” Biden said.
Biden said he and Sanders “share a common vision” to expand health insurance, address economic inequality and fight climate change.

Join me live as we discuss the government response to the coronavirus and the actions required going forward. https://t.co/BRCjeg5TNw
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 17, 2020

Sanders delivered a 20-minute speech online Tuesday. But he did not mention the primaries, focusing instead on his recommendations for addressing the coronavirus pandemic, including injecting US$2 trillion in funding to prevent deaths and “avoid an economic catastrophe.”
A fourth state, Ohio, was scheduled to vote Tuesday, but it postponed its elections until June on orders of Republican Governor Mike DeWine, who told voters to stay home during the escalating public health emergency.
Bloomberg drops out of Democratic presidential race, backs Biden
The United States officially has more than 6,300 coronavirus cases, although that is believed to be a fraction of the real number, which has been depressed by delays in testing.
Election authorities had braced for disruptions and the Trump administration urged Americans to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.
Despite hurdles, the states managed to successfully host their primaries.
In Florida, Gabriela Carrilho, a 51-year-old who works in marketing, donned gloves before casting her ballot at a nearly deserted elementary school in Miami Beach.
“I think if you don’t participate, then things never change,” she said.
She and others said they felt safe voting.
“There was hand sanitiser at every single station,” said 29-year-old Matt Don. “They kept a safe distance from me. Everybody in there is keeping safe.”
In Illinois, Chicago election commissioners scrambled to find substitute voting judges after hundreds informed the county clerk’s office they wouldn’t show up.
Americans are staying home from work or school by the millions as the country implements emergency measures against a worsening health crisis.
Maryland on Tuesday became the latest state to delay voting, pushing its primary from April 28 to June 2.
Kentucky and Louisiana have postponed their elections to June, while Georgia is delaying from next week until May.


How are votes counted in the US presidential election?

Supreme Court will not hear appeal from Elon Musk’s X platform over warrant in Trump case

How another close election could add to rampant US dysfunction

US prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump 2020 election case

US presidential election 2020

Joe Biden’s clean sweep in three states could mark end for Bernie Sanders

Joe Biden rolled to blowout victories in Tuesday’s three Democratic presidential primaries. Photo: AFP

An election worker walks inside the poling station during the Florida primary election at South Pointe Elementary School in Miami, on March 17, 2020. - Millions of anxious Americans troop to polling stations March 17, 2020 in three states, but not Ohio, as the coronavirus pandemic roils the nation's Democratic primaries featuring frontrunner Joe Biden and his rival Bernie Sanders. Campaigning has shifted from rallies to online events, candidate debates are audience-free, and multiple states have postponed their primaries as the virus, which has killed more than 80 people nationwide, prompts unprecedented alterations to the political landscape in an election year. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 15, 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls former US vice president Joe Biden (L) and Senator Bernie Sanders (R) greet each other with an elbow bump as they arrive for the 11th Democratic Party 2020 presidential debate in a CNN Washington Bureau studio in Washington, DC. - Americans voted March 17, 2020 in Democratic primaries in Florida, Illinois and Arizona in an election day like no other, as the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic blighted the US presidential nomination race between frontrunner Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) / ALTERNATIVE CROP

Biden and Sanders: would either be a better leader than Trump in a crisis?

Democratic US presidential candidates Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders do an elbow bump in place of a handshake. Photo: Reuters

People walk past a convenient store where the latest cover of a magazine is stuck on a pillar outside of it on Sunday, March 15, 2020, in New York. President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Americans to cease hoarding groceries and other supplies, while one of the nation's most senior public health officials called on the nation to act with more urgency to safeguard their health as the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread across the United States. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Centrist Democrats eye Michael Bloomberg as Joe Biden crumbles

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. Photo: AP

COLUMBIA, SC - FEBRUARY 11: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden addresses the crowd during a South Carolina campaign launch party on February 11, 2020 in Columbia, South Carolina. Biden skipped a primary-night event in New Hampshire after the count there showed a distant finish to front runner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and 2020 presidential candidate, speaks during the 'Bernie Beats Trump' Get Out The Vote Concert Rally in Durham, New Hampshire, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 10, 2020. The Democratic presidential race took on a new shape a day before the New Hampshire primary, as a national poll showed Bernie Sandersovertaking Joe Biden in first place and Michael Bloomberg surging to third place on a wave of advertising. Photographer: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg

People lineup outside of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg Mike Bloomberg, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020 in Chattanooga, Tenn. (C.B. Schmelter/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)

Gaffe-prone Joe Biden says ‘poor kids just as bright as white kids’ as he speaks to Asian and Hispanic voters

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at a conference in San Diego on Monday. Photo: Reuters

DES MOINES, IOWA - AUGUST 08: Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden delivers a 20-minute campaign speech at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair August 08, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. 22 of the 23 politicians seeking the Democratic Party presidential nomination will be visiting the fair this week, six months ahead of the all-important Iowa caucuses. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Biden warns Trump: ‘You’re not going to destroy me or my family’

US Democratic presidential candidate and former vice-president Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters

(FILES)(COMBO) This combination of files pictures created on September 24, 2019 shows Democratic presidential hopeful Former Vice President Joe Biden at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas on September 12, 2019,and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, September 20, 2019. - Top aides to Donald Trump sought September 29, 2019 to turn the tables on Democrats pushing for his impeachment, insisting the president was the true "whistleblower" in pushing Ukraine to probe the son of rival Joe Biden for corruption. The Democratic-led House of Representatives launched an official impeachment inquiry this week after a whistleblower complaint led to the release of a phone call showing Trump pressed Kiev to probe his potential challenger for the White House. (Photos by Robyn BECK and SAUL LOEB / AFP)

News

World

United States & Canada


Former vice-president rolled to blowout victories in Florida, Illinois and Arizona
Victories raised questions about the future of Sanders’ campaign



As the United States grappled with combating the spreading coronavirus pandemic, voters handed the former vice-president victory in delegate-rich Florida, as well as Illinois and Arizona.


Joe Biden’s clean sweep in three states could mark end for Bernie Sanders

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Former vice-president rolled to blowout victories in Florida, Illinois and Arizona Victories raised questions about the future of Sanders’ campaign

Former vice-president rolled to blowout victories in Florida, Illinois and Arizona

Victories raised questions about the future of Sanders’ campaign