Tuesday’s primary made clear that Bernie Sanders has less appeal among Democratic primary voters when not running against Hillary Clinton.
Multiple news outlets called Michigan, the biggest primary state of the night, for Joe Biden as soon as the last polls in the state closed. His decisive win there and in other primary states on Tuesday evening is a stark contrast from 2016, when Sanders beat Clinton in an upset in Michigan and was close behind her in Missouri.
Analysts argued that the results show that Sanders’s major successes in his race against Clinton in 2016 had more to do with voters disliking Clinton than with the socialist inspiring a wide-reaching “revolution.”
This is not complicated. Bernie Sanders didn’t win Michigan in 2016; Hillary Clinton lost it.
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) March 11, 2020
I think we are seeing pretty strong evidence that much of the 2016 Sanders vote was really an anti-Hillary vote.
— Philip Klinkner (@pklinkne) March 11, 2020
.@clairecmc: “A lot of the Bernie vote in 2016, fair or unfair, was anti-Hillary. It wasn’t so much pro-Bernie.” pic.twitter.com/x1MytgIF04
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 10, 2020
The quick call in Michigan and the calls in other states mean that early data showed Biden won by such large margins that waiting for more results was not necessary. Biden was favored to win those states, but the large margins will help Biden expand his delegate lead.
The results further Biden’s lead and put him in a commanding position to claim the Democratic nomination and the right to challenge President Trump in November. He’s been the front-runner since cleaning up on Super Tuesday a week ago, which came on the heels of his decisive victory in the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who endorsed Biden after she dropped out of the Democratic presidential race last week, joked that Biden’s victory in Minnesota on Super Tuesday “started a trend” with states that begin with M, hinting that she expected a victory in Michigan.
.@joebiden projected winner in Mississippi and Missouri. We started a trend in Minnesota and it is another good night for M states! And next…!!!!!!
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) March 11, 2020
Polls have closed in North Dakota, but the race has not yet been called. The state Democratic Party, rather than the state government, ran the primary there.
9:04 p.m. EDT: Biden scores blowout win over Bernie Sanders in Michigan, widening already commanding lead
8:28 p.m. EDT: Biden set for another good night with two quick wins
8:08 p.m. EDT: Biden seizes Missouri, stopping Bernie Sanders from tightening delegate race
8:03 p.m. EDT: Biden holds Mississippi, continuing sweep of the Southern states
4:35 p.m. EDT: Biden ready to knock out Sanders
4:27 p.m. EDT: Biden and Sanders cancel election night rallies after coronavirus reported in Ohio
Seven things to watch for during Tuesday’s primaries
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.”
Final 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 had 670 delegates and Sanders had 574, but about 90 delegates from Super Tuesday contests had yet to be allocated.
Polls have not yet closed in the following states:
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 at 11 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. PDT).
Washington state — 89 delegates
Voters in Washington state must return mail-in ballots by 11 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. PDT).
