The 2-man showdown of Bernie vs Biden might have already ended in a TKO, as former vice-president Joe Biden almost certainly sealed the deal on Tuesday to secure the Democratic nomination for president.
Politics
Voters in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, and Washington state went to the polls on Tuesday and collectively handed Biden a free ticket to The White House. In the Bernie vs Biden matchup, Biden landed a veritable knockout punch and handily won the all-important states of Michigan (58% to 38.1%), Mississippi (81% to 14.9%), and Missouri (60.1% to 34.6%). As of this writing, Biden was also leading in Idaho (46.1% to 35.7%) and breaking just about even in Washington state (32.7% for Sanders to 32.5% for Biden), while Sanders showed well in only North Dakota (44.8% to 34.3%). Additionally, polling for next Tuesday’s contests in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio has heavily favored Biden winning a sweep.
The news was a near death knell for the Bernie Sanders campaign and one that left him reeling.
Both the Biden and Sanders campaigns canceled their large-scale rallies planned for Tuesday night and opted to only speak to their supporters via camera. However, once the night’s results were released, something very interesting and, perhaps telling, happened: Joe Biden spoke to his supporters. Bernie Sanders did not speak at all. Instead, he flew back to his home in Vermont to consider his options.
“There’s no sugar-coating it — tonight’s a tough night. Tonight’s a tough night for the movement overall.” – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Sanders supporter)
“I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion,” Biden said in a presidential-like speech from Philadelphia (and without an in-person audience due to the coronavirus threat) that almost seemed to speak of Sanders as a ‘former’ candidate. “We share a common goal and together we will defeat Donald Trump. We will defeat him together. We are going to bring this nation together,” he added.
Biden’s upbeat and unifying words came on the heels of yet another endorsement after former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang jumped on the Biden train on Tuesday.
As for Bernie Sanders, his silence was deafening.
With 821 delegates currently allocated for Biden versus 663 for Sanders, the math is more than clear. This is quickly becoming Joe Biden’s nomination to lose with delegate numbers that are nearly impossible for Sanders to catch.
Today, Bernie Sanders has a huge decision to make. He can stay in the race and participate in Sunday’s debate from Arizona while hoping against hope to turn the tides. Or, he can recognize the delegate math is not in his favor and unite Democrats by dropping out the race and refocusing the ire of his followers against Donald Trump. However, Sanders also has another option: stay in the race, hold onto his delegates, then go to the Democratic Convention and make a deal with Biden to get several of his pet projects added to the Democratic platform.
Aside from that, the much-anticipated battle of Bernie vs Biden is now pretty much a done deal.
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
Bernie vs Biden matchup appears already over.
“Bernie Sanders did not speak at all. Instead, he flew back to his home in Vermont to consider his options.” – DJ
Yep. He knows his campaign is all but done. But he needs the space to decide when and how he’s going to get out of the race.
As one writer put it: “It wasn’t just the results on Tuesday. It was the realization that, for the first time, he had no excuse and nothing better to look forward to.”
I would also note that it was the size and coalition of Biden’s wins. A “turnout explosion” that began in South Carolina and continued on last Tuesday (Super Tuesday l) and then again yesterday (Super Tuesday ll).
And he did it with no ground game, no organization, no ads and no money!?!
Wow! Another incredible outcome.