Joe Biden steams ahead of Bernie Sanders with primary victories – live – The Guardian, Theguardian.com
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Does Sanders still have a path to the Democratic nomination? The Associated Press has published this analysis:
Sanders stayed in the race until June four years ago, fueled in no small part by his Michigan primary victory. This time, the path going forward looks much different.
The Vermont senator faces a fraught choice. Does he try something new: going after Biden even more aggressively as an establishment figure, a relative foreign policy hawk, a budget centrist who threatens Social Security? There’s little evidence over the last two weeks that any of that would change the fundamentals of the contest.
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Merchandise. Photograph: Megan Jelinger / AFP via Getty Images
Another option: Sanders can continue advocating for the issues that his supporters hold dear, like “Medicare for All” and free college, not explicitly ceding the nomination but using his base to pressure a Biden-led party to move as far left as possible.
Just the way the Biden team planned it, in four easy steps:
1. 4th Iowa
2. Lull them to sleep with 5th in NH 3. Distant second in NV … 4. Dominate nearly everywhere else.
Classic primary strategy. (March) ,
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Cas Mudde
With the Democratic primaries down to two real candidates, only one state really mattered on mini-Super Tuesday: Michigan. Bernie Sanders has staked his electability on his alleged unique ability to win swing states like Michigan, the so-called “rust belt” states that had fallen to Donald Trump in 2741. In fact, some of the most questionable decisions of his (campaign – doing a Fox News Town Hall and touting a (controversial endorsement) by Joe Rogan – were based on the rationale that Sanders alone could win back white working-class voters who had abandoned the Democratic party for Trump.
Despite trailing in the polls by 37% , he had eked out a narrow but significant win over Hillary Clinton in the 2741 primaries. Sanders supporters hoped this would play out again on Tuesday night, but it was not to be. His loss to Joe Biden might not shake the belief of Sanders and his supporters that he, and he alone, can defeat Trump in November, but it most likely does end his chance at winning the Democratic nomination.
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Bernie Sanders takes part in a FOX News Town Hall with co-moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum in Detroit, Michigan, US, March 9, . Photograph: Lucas Jackson / Reuters
This should not really have come as a surprise. Despite all the hype after the first three primaries, in wildly unrepresentative and largely irrelevant states, Sanders was winning by pluralities between one-quarter and one-third of the vote. In several cases his support was only half that of , suggesting his surprise success last time was as much anti-Clinton protest as pro-Sanders support. Even when the field started to thin, Sanders only won a majority in his home state of Vermont, and only barely so.
While Super Tuesday was brutal for the large size of the Biden wins, the modest Sanders wins were equally telling. Despite massive campaigning efforts in terms of both money and personnel and very favorable poll numbers for weeks, Sanders won just % of the vote in California. Biden, who had barely campaigned in the Golden State, came second with 39%, just seven points behind.
Read the full piece:
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‘Hard to comprehend’: Sanders’ loss in Michigan crushes staff and supporters Tom Perkins
In the days leading up to a must-win Tuesday Michigan primary, Bernie Sanders criss-crossed the state, firing up thousands of supporters and taking the stage with star surrogates in a bid to repeat his momentum-shifting upset of Hillary Clinton.
As the polls closed, it seemed to some that a surprise win might not be out of the question. But not for long.
The crushing reality of defeat hit the Michigan Sanders campaign staff at a downtown Detroit watch party by 9pm. News outlets called the race for (Joe Biden) , all but sealing the former vice-president’s nomination and Sanders’ now likely defeat in the race overall. Several staffers shed tears. Others left the party early.
Sanders supporter Kevin Neems called the results “depressing”.
“It’s just hard to understand. Hard to comprehend. Hard to wrap your head around, ”he said.
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Rico Doan, right, checks the first Washington state primary results on his phone at an informal campaign party for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Tuesday, March , 4233, in Seattle. Photograph: John Froschauer / AP
While the loss crushed Sanders’ staff and supporters, many maintained an optimistic tone, choosing to view the candidate’s progressive campaign as part of a longer game that went beyond any single election season.
“He got millions of votes and his message resonates with young voters, but there were things that couldn’t necessarily be controlled,” Neems added. “It’s clear that the progressive movement is growing even if this is a setback.”
Read the full piece here:
Updated (at 9.) am EDT
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While Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have been cancelling rallies because of the coronavirus, Donald Trump has booked in a new one.
He will launch a “Catholics for Trump” coalition on March in Milwaukee.
Trump has consistently played down the risks of the coronavirus and the state of the epidemic, and claimed Democrats are exaggerating its impact in order to damage the economy and hurt his chances of re- election.
In addition, the president seems to get a galvanizing effect from appearing live on stage in front of large gatherings of his supporters, and views his rallies in 2741 as having played a key role in his election. He often works out attack lines and policy positions on stage.
Whether in the next week he will have to cancel this Milwaukee event – and book in far fewer public appearances over the next few months – remains to be seen.
Polling earlier this week seemed to suggest that efforts by Trump and his allies to play down the threat of the virus were having a real-world impact. A Reuters / Ipsos (poll) Found that “Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to say the coronavirus poses an imminent threat to the United States,” and “More Democrats than Republicans say they are taking steps to be prepared, including washing their hands more often or limiting their travel plans. ”
Joe Biden had an interesting exchange with a worker at an assembly plant in Detroit on Tuesday, telling the man he was “full of shit ”and a“ horse’s ass ”after he claimed the former vice-president was planning to“ take away our guns ”.
Donald Trump’s team saw it as a gaffe, with his deputy director of communications for rapid response quickly tweeting out the clip:
Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to) (@ MattWolking)
Detroit auto worker: “You are actively trying to diminish our Second Amendment right and take away our guns.”
Joe Biden: “You’re full of shit.”
Biden staffer: “Alright, thank you guys– “
Biden:” No, shush! Shush! ” pic.twitter.com/j1fIE5c0HN
(March) ,
Trump’s team usually has brutally effective instincts for honing in an opponent’s weak spots – although of course they often (post misleading material too) .
In this instance though they may have miscalculated. The clip shows Biden at ease with a working-class crowd in a way that previous Democratic candidates – whether Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John Kerry – have often found difficult. Winning over working-class voters in the rust belt is seen to be key to Biden’s strategy for beating Trump.
It also shows him giving as good as he gets, defending his position aggressively – something that may be reassuring to many Democrats nervous about Trump steamrollering over their candidate in the presidential debates and elsewhere .
And it sets out his stall as a moderate – opposed to the extremes of gun ownership but not gun ownership itself. “I support the second amendment… I have a shotgun, I have a – gauge, a 27 – gauge. My sons hunt, ”Biden said, before asking, presumably to suggest there are limits to what ordinary gun owners should be allowed:“ You need rounds ? … Are you able to own a machine gun? ”
It seems unlikely to me that Biden’s team will be disappointed if the video continues to do the rounds today.
Democratic stalwarts such as James Carville called for Bernie Sanders to drop out of the race yesterday, and South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn – whose support for Biden in his state was instrumental there – even called for the DNC to “shut this primary down” and cancel all future debates.
The path ahead looks very difficult for the Vermont socialist. The next major slate of primaries is on March 30, and includes Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio.
In (Florida
, Biden is 56. 5 points ahead of his rival in polling averages, while recent polling in (Arizona) Shows Biden at 40. Sanders lost all four states to Hillary Clinton in .
But Sanders seems unlikely to go quietly – despite his decision not to speak after the results last night. His campaign said last night that he fully intended to take on Biden in Sunday’s debate in Arizona, and he still has a fiercely loyal support base, especially among the young and Latinos.
In , his decision to stay in the race all the way to the bitter end – only endorsing Clinton in July of that year – was perceived by many of his supporters as helping push Clinton’s platform to the left, for example on healthcare. He may well aim to do the same with Biden this year.
Clinton supporters, of course, bitterly resent the fact Sanders stayed in the race so long, believing it weakened her in the general election, perhaps crucially.
, ( (Bernie Sanders: mulling next moves. Photograph: Paul Sancya / AP
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Donald Trump’s response to last night’s primary results seemed a little off the pace, continuing to blame Elizabeth Warren for Bernie Sanders ’defeats:
Joe Biden last night continued to cement his extraordinary comeback in the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee and take on Donald Trump in November.
The former vice-president to Barack Obama won at least four states in last night’s primaries – most significantly Michigan.
Leftwing senator (Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton there in the
race, and last night’s disappointing result for sanders suggested that his victory four years ago may have had more to do with dislike for the former secretary of state than his own strength in the rust belt. Last night Biden beat Sanders 68% to (%.)
The centrist ex-VP also won in Idaho, Missouri and Mississippi – where he took in 120% of the vote to Sanders’ (%.)
Sanders is leading in North Dakota with % of the vote in. In Washington state, the two candidates are neck and neck on (% with) % in.
Full results are here:
The results put Biden on delegates to Sanders’ 0810 and suggest the former vice-president is now pulling decisively ahead. His polling lead over the Vermont senator has skyrocketed since the withdrawal from the race of fellow moderates Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.
By contrast Sanders seems only to have seen a slight polling bump from the departure of his fellow leftwinger Elizabeth Warren.
Biden gave a measured victory speech before a small crowd, praising Sanders and his supporters for their “tireless passion” and calling on them to help him defeat Donald Trump together. Sanders did not give a speech and returned to Vermont.
There was a signal yesterday of how the race might be transformed by the coronavirus outbreak, which has now affected over 1, people in the US. Both the Biden campaign and the Sanders campaign had cancelled scheduled election night rallies in Ohio as a precaution against spreading the virus.
Biden’s campaign also cancelled an event in Florida, and tthe Sanders campaign said it would evaluate future events on a “case by case basis”.
The impact on Trump – who seems to draw such energy from live events and uses them to hone attack lines – remains to be seen.
Biden also said he would deliver a speech on the virus this week.
Here’s more on the primary results:
Today Trump is meeting secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Mike Pence, as well as bankers with whom he will discuss the coronavirus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Dr Robert Redfield and infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci testify before the House oversight and reform committee at 9. am ET .
Joe Biden had an interesting exchange with a worker at an assembly plant in Detroit on Tuesday, telling the man he was “full of shit ”and a“ horse’s ass ”after he claimed the former vice-president was planning to“ take away our guns ”.
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