The Democratic field of presidential candidates thinned out once again after the Super Tuesday primaries made it clear that this was going to be a two-man race.
After the dust settled, former Vice President Joe Biden emerged as a clear winner closing out the evening with 404 delegates. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who was considered the frontrunner in the race just a week prior to the nationwide voting contests, came in second with 340 pledged delegates.
Biden’s victories appeared strongest in the southern states, where more moderate Democratic voters clearly reject Senator Sanders’ so-called “democratic socialism.” The Vermont senator was able to maintain a lead in California, a delegate-rich state almost guaranteed to vote blue in November.
The losers of the evening were clearly Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who suspended his campaign the following morning. Warren, seen by many as a progressive alternative to Bernie Sanders, trailed both Sanders and Biden in her home state, raising serious doubts about the future of her campaign.
This Democratic primary season in many ways mirrors the Republican primary season in 2016. While President Donald Trump was the disruptive force for the GOP during that year, the socialist Sanders occupies that same space for Democrats in 2020. But here’s the critical difference: the DNC establishment learned from the RNC’s failure. While Republican rivals refused to back down and back a moderate to stop the populist in 2016, Democrats aren’t making that same mistake.
Just days ahead of Super Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar both suspended their campaigns to endorse Biden. Bloomberg did the same on Wednesday.
Progressive voters, who passionately support Bernie Sanders, believe that their ideas are more popular than the mainstream media gives them credit for, and that the gaffe-prone Joe Biden stands little chance of defeating President Trump in a general election. The fact that a nationwide Democratic primary shows Democrats themselves rejecting Sanders challenges that narrative.
So, while the biggest loser of the night is anyone’s guess, the biggest winner is still President Trump.
Here’s Mark Dice with a quick recap of the evening.
