Former Vice President Joe Biden won the most Democratic presidential primaries on Super Tuesday, reviving his struggling campaign with victories across the South.
Biden’s success comes three days after his victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary, which was boosted by an endorsement from Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina.
Sophomore criminology and psychology major Cyantae Tucker was not shocked by Biden’s revival. She believed it was always going to come down to him and Bernie towards the end of the race. However, she is hoping Senator Sanders can turn things around.
“I would probably say I support Bernie,” Tucker said. “I just know a bit more about him and his ideas.”
Shortly before Super Tuesday, former Mayor from South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar both dropped out of the race, endorsing Biden for president as well.
Senator Bernie Sanders started the night off by winning his home state of Vermont. The former vice president answered back by winning the commonwealth of Virginia, with more than half of voters supporting his fight for what he refers to as the “soul of our nation.”
Biden proceeded to win the state of North Carolina, which carries the third most delegates on Super Tuesday, and billionaire Michael Bloomberg took the majority of delegates collected from American Samoa.
According to CNN, 6 in 10 black voters in North Carolina went to Joe Biden. The African-American vote continued to carry him heavily throughout the night as Alabama overwhelmingly supported Biden over Sanders, who was far behind in second. Biden then earned another victory in Tennessee. Voters were still able to head to the polls despite the deadly tornadoes that rippled through East Nashville. Several polling locations were condensed into a singular location where voters waited in line to participate.
The young liberal voters Senator Sanders heavily relies on showed up in Colorado, allowing Sanders to claim his second victory of the night. However, the former vice president was not far behind. Sanders won the state by around 12% of the vote. Michael Bloomberg earned around 3 delegates in Colorado, taking votes away from both Biden and Sanders. Biden continued to claim victory in Senator Elizabeth Warren’s home state of Oklahoma, which was another state Warren failed to win any delegates. Biden then won Arkansas with around 40% of the vote.
Biden delivered a powerful speech in Los Angeles around 10:30 p.m. Eastern. He was exuberant and hopeful for his campaign, thanking his countless supporters and all who recently endorsed his campaign. He would proceed to win Senator Klobuchar’s home state of Minnesota in a tight race with Sanders.
Sanders took control of California with a strong showing among Latinos and young white voters. He went on to claim victory in the state of Utah.
Senator Warren finished third in Massachusetts, which is the state she represents in the United States Senate. Her failure to win her own state foreshadowed her suspension of her campaign for the Democratic Presidential Nominee on Thursday.
Texas went to the former vice president in a tight race with Senator Sanders. Biden won with just over 6% of the vote, allowing him to take the state with the second highest delegates. This was a major blow to Sanders, who was counting on the Latino vote along the Southern border to carry him to victory. The endorsement of former Representative Beto O’Rourke helped Biden boost his performance in Texas.
Sanders took the biggest state included in Super Tuesday as he currently has a clear lead in California while the votes are still coming in. Maine remains a close race with 94% of the votes counted, but Biden looks to be victorious with about a 3% lead over Senator Sanders.
Texas, Maine and Virginia were the only states where Senator Warren received any delegates. Meanwhile, Representative Tulsi Gabbard received only two delegates altogether.
Democracy and Diversity professor Dr. Joe Cimakasky believes anything is possible from here on out, and the delegate lead is not impossible to overcome.
“I would prefer Bernie,” Cimakasky said. “Like a lot of Trump voters in 2016, I remember them saying they wanted to shake things up. I think it’s good to shake things up too. I know for many people his ideas are radical, but they don’t seem all that radical to me. Healthcare for everyone and universal education, I mean I think most developed nations in the world have these things, right?”
He also referred to the support for Biden as what he believes is a need to return to normalcy for those who miss the policies of the Obama administration. Cimakasky, a Scranton native, believes Biden’s Scranton roots will boost his support in Pennsylvania and win him the state.
Many voters made their decisions just days before the primaries took place, which is another indication of how much the various endorsements for Biden contributed to his success.
Biden currently has 610 delegates while Sanders is behind with 538 delegates. The next set of primaries will take place on Tuesday, March 10. The states participating include Michigan, Washington, Missouri, Mississippi, Idaho and North Dakota.
