Former Vice President Joe Biden solidified his frontrunner status on Tuesday night when he handily won the Idaho primary against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), making his path to the 2020 nomination all the more likely. From The Hill:
Former Vice President Joe Biden defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Idaho’s primary Tuesday, flipping a state Sanders had won in 2016.
The Associated Press called the race as soon as polls closed in the state on Tuesday night.
Idaho’s primary, one of six nominating contests Tuesday, will award a total of 20 pledged delegates.
According to Fox News, with 85% reporting in the state, Biden earned 48.34% of the vote (46,125 total votes), while Sanders earned 42.51% of the vote (40,555 total votes). In a state of just 20 delegates, Biden won 9 delegates; Bernie Sanders just 7.
Though Biden picked up victories in states like Missouri and Mississippi by wide margins on Tuesday, as reported by The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti, Biden picked up a major, much-needed victory in Michigan over Sanders, a state that the socialist senator won in 2016 and desperately needed to win on Tuesday if he were to have any clear pathway to the nomination.
“At 10pm EST, two hours after polls closed, Biden was leading Sanders by that same 14 points, 54% to 40%,” reported Zanotti. “Both former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who exited the race for the Democratic presidential nomination last Monday, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who beat a dismal exit from her own campaign last Wednesday, received support — 3% and 2%, respectively.”
Though Sanders still holds a tight lead in Washington State, media outlets still consider the race too close to call.