With 3 more victories, Biden pulls further away from Sanders
Will Weissert | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus Thursday, March 12, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Former Vice President Joe Biden, participates in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington, Sunday, March 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Sharon Trask and other voters use hand sanitizer as they stand in line to vote at Lincoln Lodge Polling station, 1st ward, Tuesday, March 17 2020 in Chicago. Voters across the state are getting the chance to decide competitive primary races for the U.S. House and the Illinois Supreme Court, with concerns about the coronavirus looming large. Election officials have been promoting voting early and casting ballots by mail in an attempt to control crowds and curb the spread. The vast majority of people recover from the new coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, most people re…
An Arizona voter delivers her mail-in ballot at a polling station for the Arizona presidential preference election Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Voting machines are collected from a polling place at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Wintersville, Ohio, Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Ohio's presidential primary was postponed Tuesday amid coronavirus concerns. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Voters cast their ballots for the Florida presidential primary, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Bonita Springs, Fla. Floridians are voting across the state as election officials manage losses of poll workers and changes to polling places because of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Guillermo Cruz-Sanchez takes his ballot to the ballot box at the Su Nueva Lavanderia polling place Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Chicago. Voters across the state are getting the chance to decide competitive primary races for the U.S. House and the Illinois Supreme Court, with concerns about the coronavirus looming large. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
A voter uses hand sanitizer as she leaves a polling station for the Florida presidential primary, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Bonita Springs, Fla. Floridians are voting across the state as election officials manage losses of poll workers and changes to polling places because of the coronavirus. There had been concern some polling places might not open on time Tuesday because of worker absences, but no problems have been reported. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Chicago residents line up for early voting at the Roden Library Monday, March 16, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Voter Shelby Zurick Beasley, left, casts her ballot in the Illinois primary with the help of election worker Irene Jester at Parkview Church of the Nazarene Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Fairview Heights, Ill. Voters are casting ballots in the Illinois primary despite the coronavirus outbreak, with judges at this polling place seeing a slow but steady turnout. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Polling station volunteer Dimitri Uglialoro waits for voters for the Florida presidential primary, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Bonita Springs, Fla. Floridians are voting across the state as election officials manage losses of poll workers and changes to polling places because of the coronavirus. There had been concern some polling places might not open on time Tuesday because of worker absences, but no problems have been reported. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
A voter walks into a polling station for the Florida presidential primary, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Bonita Springs, Fla. Floridians are voting across the state as election officials manage losses of poll workers and changes to polling places because of the coronavirus. There had been concern some polling places might not open on time Tuesday because of worker absences, but no problems have been reported. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Craig Kuczynsnski packs up a polling place in Our Lady of Lourdes church in Wintersville, Ohio Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Ohio's presidential primary was postponed Tuesday amid coronavirus concerns. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden swept to victory in Florida, Illinois and Arizona on Tuesday, increasingly pulling away with a Democratic presidential primary upended by the coronavirus and building pressure on Bernie Sanders to abandon his campaign.
The former vice president's third big night in as many weeks came amid tremendous uncertainty as the Democratic contest collides with efforts to slow the spread of the virus that has shut down large swaths of American life. Polls were shuttered in Ohio, and although balloting went ahead as scheduled in the three other states, election workers and voters reported problems.
Still, Biden's quest for his party's nomination now seems well within reach. His trio of wins doubled his delegate haul over Sanders, giving the former vice president a nearly insurmountable lead. Top Democratic leaders and donors have also increasingly lined up behind Biden as the best option to square off against President Donald Trump in November.
Using a livestream to address supporters from his home state of Delaware, Biden seemed ready to move past the primary. He paid tribute to the Vermont senator for advancing key issues like affordable health care and combating climate change.
“Sen. Sanders and his supporters have brought a remarkable passion and tenacity to all of these issues. Together they have shifted the fundamental conversation in this country," Biden said. “So let me say, especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Sen. Sanders, I hear you. I know what’s at stake. I know what we have to do.”
With the exception of North Dakota and the Northern Mariana Islands, Sanders hasn't scored a victory since Super Tuesday on March 3. He made no immediate move on Tuesday to contact Biden, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the candidates. During remarks early in the night, Sanders said little about the future of the race and instead focused on the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump, meanwhile, formally clinched the Republican presidential nomination after facing minimal opposition.
But much of the action was on the Democratic side, where higher vote totals in some key states suggested enthusiasm that even the coronavirus couldn't contain. Turnout in Florida’s Democratic primary surpassed the 1.7 million who cast ballots four years ago.
Sanders' path to the nomination is quickly narrowing, and some Democrats are now calling on him to drop out in the name of party unity. Top advisers have said he's considering whether the political landscape could look different as the virus continues to reshape life across the country.
Still, the race increasingly favors Biden. He maintained strength on Tuesday with African Americans and older voters who have been the hallmark of his campaign. He also appeared to chip away at Sanders' previous advantage with Hispanics that helped him win Nevada and California early in the race.
In Florida, Latinos made up roughly 20% of Democratic primary voters, and they largely sided with Biden. The former vice president received the support of 62% of Puerto Rican voters and 57% of Cubans, according to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of primary voters.
The public health and economic havoc wreaked by the coronavirus will nonetheless influence how the presidential contest unfolds. Rallies and other big events have been canceled. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez urged states with upcoming primaries to expand vote-by-mail and absentee balloting, as well as polling station hours — trying to ensure the primary isn't further hampered going forward.
“The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and we must do everything we can to protect and expand that right instead of bringing our democratic process to a halt,” Perez said in a statement.
But the damage may have already happened.
Four states — Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky and Maryland — have joined Ohio in moving to push back their upcoming primaries, and others may yet do so. That has left the Democratic primary calendar empty until March 29, when Puerto Rico is scheduled to go to the polls. But island leaders are working to reschedule balloting there, too.
That means there is nowhere for Sanders to gain ground on Biden anytime soon, even if he could find a way to mount a sudden surge.
At least one of Sanders' top advisers chided party officials for going forward with voting on Tuesday.
“The Democratic Party rightly berates the GOP for ignoring scientists’ warnings about climate change," David Sirota tweeted. "The same Dem Party just ignored scientists’ warnings & pushed to continue in-person elections during a lethal pandemic, rather than delaying until there is vote by mail.”
There were problems across the country on Tuesday. In Illinois, for instance, there was a push to relocate about 50 Chicago-area polling places after locations canceled at the last minute.
Jim Allen, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said the board asked Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week to cancel in-person voting, but the governor refused. Pritzker countered that state law doesn't give him the authority to make the sweeping changes that elections officials wanted.
“Let me tell you this: It is exactly in times like these when the constitutional boundaries of our democracy should be respected above all else. And if people want to criticize me for that, well, go ahead,” the governor said.
There weren't problems, everywhere, though. Mel Dockens, a 49-year-old small-business owner, voted in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale and said it was a tough choice. But he went for Biden because he thought Sanders’ progressive views might turn off some Democratic voters.
“It’s all about electability,” Dockens said. "It’s not that I don’t trust Bernie Sanders, but I trust (Biden) a little more.”
___
Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Katie Foody in Chicago, and Seth Borenstein and Alexandra Jaffe in Washington contributed to this report.
___
Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, “Ground Game.”
___
The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
ARTICLES BY BRIAN SLODYSKO
Marchers across US call on Congress to bolster voting rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of voting rights advocates rallied across the country Saturday to call for sweeping federal laws that would wipe out voting restrictions advancing in some Republican-controlled states that could make it harder to cast a ballot.
Marchers across US call on Congress to bolster voting rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of voting rights advocates rallied across the country Saturday to call for sweeping federal laws that would wipe out voting restrictions advancing in some Republican-controlled states that could make it harder to cast a ballot.
Marchers across US call on Congress to bolster voting rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of voting rights advocates rallied across the country Saturday to call for sweeping federal laws that would wipe out voting restrictions advancing in some Republican-controlled states that could make it harder to cast a ballot.