Tuesday’s primary contests will either cement Joe Biden’s wide path to the Democratic presidential nomination or give Bernie Sanders some hope of catching up to his lead.
Michigan is the biggest contest of the day. Without a win there, it will be difficult for the Vermont senator to forge a path to the nomination. The former vice president had double-digit leads in state polls on Monday. Sanders has a glimmer of hope in that he won Michigan’s primary in an upset in 2016 after polls showed Hillary Clinton more than 20 points ahead of him. Democratic voters on Tuesday will show whether there is any appetite for another drawn-out primary fight between an establishment figure and a socialist candidate.
Biden’s primary day got off to a rough start when a worker at a Detroit automobile plant confronted him, accusing the former vice president of “actively trying to end our Second Amendment right and take away our guns.” Biden told the man that he was “full of shit” and referred to an “AR-14.”
Results in Michigan could be delayed due to a backlog of absentee votes.
There are 353 delegates at stake in Tuesday’s six primary contests, which will be proportionally allocated based on both statewide results and results in congressional districts. A candidate needs 1,991 pledged delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. As of Tuesday afternoon, Biden has 670 delegates, and Sanders has 574, but about 90 delegates from Super Tuesday contests have yet to be allocated.
Seven things to watch for during Tuesday’s primaries
Here are the states voting and poll closing times:
Idaho — 20 delegates
Most polls close at 10 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. MDT), while nine northern counties in the Pacific time zone close 11 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. PDT).
Michigan — 125 delegates
Polls in Michigan close at 9 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. CDT).
Mississippi — 36 delegates
Polls in Mississippi close at 8 p.m. EDT.
Missouri — 68 delegates
Polls in Missouri close at 8 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. CDT).
North Dakota — 14 delegates
Polls close in North Dakota at 8 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. CDT).
North Dakota’s contest functions like a primary with secret ballots but is run by the state Democratic party rather than the state government.
Washington — 89 delegates
Voters in Washington must return mail-in ballots by 11 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. PDT).
