11th March, 2020
Joe Biden was projected by most US networks to win Michigan’s Democratic presidential contest on Tuesday, taking a big step toward the nomination and dealing a crushing blow to rival Bernie Sanders’ fading White House hopes.
Biden, the former vice president under Barack Obama, also was projected to capture Missouri and Mississippi by Edison Research and television networks, as six states made their choices in the race to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump.
The wins put Biden, 77, on a path to the nomination to face the Republican Trump in the Nov. 3 election after becoming the front-runner with a series of sweeping wins over Sanders, 78, in last week’s Super Tuesday contests.
Sanders, a democratic socialist and U.S. senator from Vermont, had hoped an upset win in Michigan would keep his dwindling White House hopes alive. But he appeared to fall far short, leaving the future of his White House bid up in the air.
With 35% of the precincts reporting, Biden was leading in Michigan with 53% of the vote, ahead of 41% for Sanders.
A Biden breakthrough in Michigan, along with his big victories in Missouri and Mississippi, could prove too much for Sanders to overcome. By the end of March, about two-thirds of the delegates will be allocated.
A total of 352 of the nearly 4,000 delegates to July’s Democratic convention were up for grabs in the six states voting on Tuesday, with Michigan the biggest with 125 delegates. The Democratic nominee will challenge the Republican Trump, 73, in a Nov. 3 election.
Reuters