Super Tuesday results – Biden in ‘two horse race’ with Bernie Sanders after comeback – with Warren and Bloomberg in dust
JOE Biden is now in a two-horse race with Bernie Sanders after staging a miracle comeback on Super Tuesday and leaving Warren and Bloomberg trailing.
The former vice president claimed victories in Texas and across the South while Sanders took key state California, meaning either could now be the candidate battling Donald Trump for the White House later this year.
Biden, who had been lagging behind his far-left rival, suddenly surged ahead on “Super Tuesday” – the day when the largest number of states hold elections to nominate a candidate.
As the largest states in the country, and offer 415 and 228 delegates respectively, and victory in either is seen as a major boost to a candidate’s campaign.
The day saw Biden take a total of eight states and Sanders win three, with still to declare but looking likely to fall to Biden.
Following the unexpected wins, Biden told supporters: “I am here to report: We are very much alive!”
“For those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign.
“People are talking about a revolution. We started a movement.”
Overall, Biden now has 453 delegates while Sanders has 382, with either needing to win 1,991 of 3,979 delegates before the Democratic Convention in July to secure the nomination.
If neither does so, 771 so-called superdelegates chosen by party leaders – typically members or congress or other elected officials – will be given deciding votes.
SUPER TUESDAY KEY TAKEAWAYS
Super Tuesday is a decisive moment in any presidential primary campaign, but could prove more so in this one.
Before today, four candidates – Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg, Tulsi Gabbard – remained in the race, with Sanders having emerged as a front-runner after early wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
Super Tuesday has so far seen Biden win an additional 337 delegates and Sanders win 270, while Warren, Bloomberg, and Gabbard have taken 28, 12, and 1 respectively, narrowing the campaign to effectively a two-horse race.
Biden began the race for the nomination as a strong favourite, at one point holding a 25-point lead over Sanders in second place, but lost ground after some unsteady performances in a number of televised debates.
His campaign will now be optimistic that his success today, plus endorsements from former candidates including Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Beta O’Rourke, will allow him to begin rebuilding some momentum.
He will be also be best-placed to pick up additional voters if and when centrist Bloomberg and centre-left Warren eventually withdraw.
That said, Sanders continues to enjoy significant leads among certain demographics – particularly young voters and Latinos – and to outstrip his rivals in money being raised through donations.
The main outcome of Super Tuesday is likely to be a delay before voters know who will be the Democratic nominee – perhaps until the convention in July.
Recent weeks saw Sanders emerge as the front-runner, but Biden’s campaign this week received a boost when fellow moderates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg withdrew from the race and endorsed him.
As well as , he won in , , , , , , , and .
The wins will build momentum gained from a victory in last weekend’s primary in .
The night also saw a group of vegan protesters storm the stage holding posters reading, “Let Dairy Die”.
None of Biden, his wife, or his sister, all on stage at the time, were hurt in the incident, and the protesters were quickly escorted away.
Veteran senator Sanders did secure victories in , and his home state of , adding to earlier wins in and .
Speaking to supporters in Vermont shortly before his win was announce, Sanders vowed he would secure the Democratic nomination, and claimed with “absolute confidence” he would be the candidate to face President Trump.
“We are taking on the political establishment … it is our campaign, our movement which is best positioned to beat Trump,” he said.
“You cannot beat Trump with the same old same old type politics.”
He closed his speech with, “Let’s go on to the White House.”
Biden campaigned in Los Angeles on Tuesday, where footage showed him huddled with actor Keegan-Michael Key, who did a Barack Obama impression during their meeting.
“You’re looking for a VP, I got some time on my hands,” Key said.
Though Biden also raised eyebrows ahead of the vote when awkward footage emerged of him kissing the ear of a baby as it turned away from him.
The day brought little good news to the other candidates remaining in the race.
Elizabeth Warren came third in her home state of Massachusetts, where Biden was able to edge Sanders in a close race.
Mike Bloomberg and Sanders had heavily contested Virginia over the past week, but the state proved a crucial win for Biden.
WHEN WILL THE RESULT BE DECIDED?
Precisely when voters will know who is to face Donald Trump in this year's election depends on whether any one candidate can secure the Democratic nomination before the convention in July.
To do so, they will have to win a majority of the delegate votes up for grabs, or 1,991 of 3,979.
As things stand, Joe Biden leads with 453, Bernie Sanders has 382, while Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg, and Tulsi Gabbard have 50, 43, and 1 respectively.
That leaves 3,210 delegates still to play for over 37 primary elections and caucuses.
If Biden or Sanders can reach the necessary 1,991 delegates before the Democratic National Convention on July 13-16, they will be the nominee.
If they don’t, a contested convention will be held.
If a first round of voting by delegates produces no winner, a second round will then be held in which 771 so-called superdelegates chosen by party leaders – typically members or congress or other elected officials – will be allowed to cast deciding votes.
Bloomberg skipped the first four states in the primary process but spent a of his fortune on advertising in Super Tuesday states.
He was able to pick up five of six delegates in the US territory of American Samoa, with the one remaining going to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
Speaking to supporters as results came in, Bloomberg said: “In just three months, we’ve gone from one percent in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination for president.”
But reports now suggest he will reassess on Wednesday whether his campaign should continue.
He flew back to New York City after campaigning Tuesday in Florida, where a primary will be held later this month.
The former New York mayor is expected to come under pressure to withdraw from the race and lend his supporters to moderate Biden in an effort to stop Sanders securing the nomination.
GABBARD COULD BE EXCLUDED FROM DEBATES
Gabbard has been able to stay in the race longer than bigger names like Klobucher and Buttigieg, but her continued run has prompted the Democratic National Committee to increase the threshold required for candidates to appear in televised debates.
In the last three debates, candidates have only been required to have won one delegate before being allowed to participate.
No details have yet been released about what the new threshold could be, but they could see Gabbard excluded from the debates if she fails to secure more delegates in primaries taking place this week.
Senator Warren has not yet officially commented on the future of her campaign, but speaking to supporters in Detroit last night she insisted she would continue until the Democratic Convention.
“Being here with you tonight is about two things for me,” she said.
“It’s about the fight, but it’s also about the hope. It’s about what we will be able to do together.
“So that’s why I’m here.”
has reported that she is now “talking to her team to assess the path forward”, according to an aide.
She is also likely to come under political as well as financial pressure to bow out.
President Trump has dominated the Republican primaries tonight as expected, and thanked each state individually in a tweet as the early triumphs came in.
He also could not resist on social media following their poor performances.
entered Tuesday with 60 delegates, followed closely by 54.
Both now appear to be in the race for the long haul, but ex-law professor , billionaire former NYC Mayor , and congresswoman appear to be on their last legs.
There were a total of 1,357 Democratic delegates – 33.8 percent of the nationwide total – up for grabs Tuesday as voters cast their ballots.
and Klobuchar, the week saw businessman and philanthropist Tom Steyer bow out.
Buttigieg’s decision to back Biden surprised many, Biden having been heavily critical of the former mayor in past and said he was “not a Barack Obama.”
Trump said Democrats backing Biden was a and told reporters they were rigging the process against Sanders on Monday night.
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