US Elections 2020: Joe Biden scored victory from Texas on Super Tuesday giving a big boost to his campaign. (Photo Credit: Reuters)
New Delhi:
US Elections 2020: Joe Biden scored victory from Texas on Super Tuesday giving a big boost to his campaign for the 2020 White House bid as the race to Democratic party’s nomination gathers momentum over the next few months. However, his rival his rival, Bernie Sanders, seized the biggest prize with a win in California. Along with Texas, Biden took Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and the battleground states of North Carolina and Virginia, a strong start as 14 states went to the polls across the nation.
The victories in heavily African American states complemented the former vice president’s resounding win in last weekend’s South Carolina primary. Virginia was especially key because Sanders, a Vermont senator, and billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg heavily contested it over the past week.
The clash between Biden and Sanders, could determine whether the Democratic battle will stretch all the way to the July convention or be decided much sooner. This year, the Super Tuesday has gained more prominence because California, which traditionally held its primary in June, had the nomination votes on March 3 itself. As California is the most populated state in the US, it adds more heft to the Super Tuesday because 30 percent of delegates awarded on this day will be coming from this state only.
Super Tuesday becomes important for the fact that almost 34 percent of the total delegates are awarded on this very day.
Joe Biden, who was vice president under President Barack Obama, built his candidacy on the argument that his more than 40 years in elected office makes him best suited to take over from Trump on Day One, according to Reuters. Lackluster performances in Iowa and New Hampshire cost Biden his front-runner status, though his campaigned argued Nevada and South Carolina would be a better test of his ability to assemble a diverse coalition of supporters that includes African Americans, Hispanics and working-class white voters. Biden finished second in Nevada and a decisive first in South Carolina. At 77, questions persist about his age and his moderate brand of politics, which progressives contend are out of step with the leftward shift of the party. Trump's apparent effort to push the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden and his son Hunter, which resulted in Trump's impeachment, appeared to boost Biden's argument that the president views him as a threat.
