Over the past few weeks, the state and momentum of the democratic race for the presidential nomination has changed drastically. Joe Biden, once thought dead after losing the first three contests and slipping in national polls, has regained his frontrunner status. The race now stands as virtually one on one, with Biden and Sanders now being the two dominant candidates remaining.
It should be noted that technically Tulsi Gabbard is still in the race, but her campaign has no traction and has not won a contest.The former Vice President has regained his lead in national polling, pulling ahead nearly two to one against Sen. Sanders. Biden also has built up a delegate lead by dominating the March primaries. These victories for Biden include high-profile races like Virginia, South Carolina, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina and many others.
The race is also being rocked about the COVID-19 pandemic, with numerous states, including Ohio, delaying their primaries till the summer. As it stands, Biden is the frontrunner to capture a majority of the 1,991 delegates needed to be the nominee against Trump in November.Current delegate numbers for Biden and Sanders are 1,180 and 885 respectively.
Biden’s rise is quite the comeback story. At the start of the race, he was considered ‘dead on arrival,’ placing fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. In Nevada, he shot up to second behind Sen. Sanders. However, the crucial South Carolina Democratic Primary served to jolt his campaign back to life.With an endorsement from influential S.C. Congressman Jim Clyburn, Biden scored a massive double-digit victory in the contest.
Afterwards, candidates such as Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigeig dropped out to endorse Biden, coalescing around his campaign just ahead of Super Tuesday. Biden would win 10 out of the 14 states, surging to frontrunner status ahead of Sen. Sanders. The surge of the Biden campaign is clearly fueled by his strength with African American voters, who propelled him to victory in states all across the South.
For example, Biden received 60% of the African-American vote in South Carolina, a demographic that made up a majority of the overall voting population for that contest. In Virginia, Biden won 70% of African American voters, leading to a double-digit victory. These results show how Joe Biden changed the nature of the race to his favor, and propelled him back to the top of the pack. It is safe to say that Joe Biden has secured his status as the frontrunner.
