By Mark Z. Barabak
Los Angeles Times
Joe Biden won the Michigan primary and two other states Tuesday, cementing his status atop the Democratic presidential field and dealing a serious blow to Bernie Sanders’ hopes to reverse the former vice president’s momentum and launch a comeback.
Biden, on a roll since taking command of the race last week, also racked up victories in Missouri and Mississippi.
On a day when concerns over the spreading coronavirus shadowed the campaign, primaries and caucuses were also held in North Dakota, Idaho and Washington state.
The balloting was modest compared with last week’s 15-contest Super Tuesday extravaganza. A mere 356 pledged delegates were at stake, compared with nearly 1,400 a week ago.
Still, the outcome in the six contests seemed likely to significantly shape the campaign going forward.
The vote came as the two candidates were moving in opposite directions: the former vice president on the ascent, showered with millions of dollars in contributions and bolstered by dozens of fresh endorsements after his 10 Super Tuesday victories; the Vermont senator struggling to overcome Biden’s growing momentum as well as delegate math that makes his path to the White House increasingly steep.
Biden entered the day with 664 pledged delegates to Sanders’ 573, according to The Associated Press. It takes 1,991 delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot at the Democrats’ July convention.
Before the polls closed, Sanders and Biden announced they were canceling election night rallies scheduled in Cleveland ahead of next week’s Ohio primary. Biden planned to speak instead at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where his campaign is headquartered.
Both camps cited concerns from public health officials about the possible spread of the coronavirus within the large crowds the two candidates have been attracting.
“All future Bernie 2020 events will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” a spokesman said.
Similarly, the Biden campaign said it would “continue to consult with public health officials … and make announcements about future events.”
The two are the main contestants for the Democratic nomination, as Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard continues to campaign.
Of the day’s contests, Michigan appeared to be the most important, offering the largest share of delegates —125 —and carrying important symbolic overtones.
Sanders won the state four years ago, a victory that sparked his campaign just as Hillary Clinton seemed about to wrap up the nomination, and his emphasis on working-class issues seemed especially well tailored to a large blue-collar electorate that has faced years of industrial decline and massive job loss to low-wage countries. He canceled appearances in three other states to spend more time in Michigan, a move that underscored its political import.
As he did in 2016, Sanders focused on trade, attacking Biden for his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement while serving in the Senate in the 1990s. Sanders raised the issue in two TV spots, one featuring an autoworker who said his community “has been decimated by trade deals” and lumping Biden together with President Donald Trump.
During a last burst of campaigning Tuesday at a Fiat Chrysler auto plant in Detroit, Biden was confronted by a hard-hatted worker who accused him of “actively trying to take away our Second Amendment right and take away our guns.”
“You’re full of s—-,” Biden replied. “I support the Second Amendment.”
The two engaged in about a minute-long back-and-forth before Biden moved on.
Mississippi and Missouri had both appeared promising for Biden, due to their respective political makeups.
In Missouri, more than three-quarters of those who voted Tuesday said they were moderate or only “somewhat” liberal, words that could be used to describe Biden.
In Mississippi, the former vice president prevailed on the strength of overwhelming black support, repeating the pattern that carried him to victory Feb. 29 in South Carolina —the performance that resuscitated his flagging campaign —and helped him capture five more states across the South on Super Tuesday.
African Americans made up nearly two-thirds of the Mississippi electorate and more than 8 in 10 voted for Biden.
Repeating another pattern seen nationwide, the majority of voters in both Mississippi and Missouri said their top priority was choosing a candidate who could beat Trump in November, rather than one who agreed with them on issues. They voted overwhelmingly for Biden over Sanders, as they have in most other states.
For his part, Vermont’s senator was hoping for repeat wins in Idaho and Washington, which he easily carried in 2016.
Both were caucus states then. This year they are holding primaries under a rules change supported by Sanders in hopes of boosting voter participation.
MARIES
