Joe Biden is projected to keep Michael Bloomberg at bay in Tennessee on Super Tuesday, proving that massive ad buys don’t always parlay into votes.
Biden, 77, earned 31% of the vote in the state, which overnight was lashed by a deadly tornado, with 24% of precincts reporting. The two-term vice president was followed by Bernie Sanders with 24% support and Bloomberg with 20%. Elizabeth Warren wasn’t viable at the time of publication, with only 9%.
Tennessee offered 2020 Democratic presidential candidates 64 pledged delegates, which pales in comparison to the treasure troves of California and Texas. But Biden’s win in the state suggests Bloomberg will continue struggling as Super Tuesday presses on.
Bloomberg, 78, hinged his White House ambitions on record-breaking ad buys across the country, hoping he could clinch wins in traditionally conservative states such as Tennessee, given his rivals didn’t have the resources to compete there.
Biden also won a state with a similar social and political make-up on Super Tuesday, beating Bloomberg again in Oklahoma, Warren’s birth state.
