Biden Racks Up Primary Wins

Joe Biden is on the cusp of formally securing the Democratic presidential nomination after winning hundreds more delegates in primary contests Tuesday that tested the nation's ability to run elections while balancing a pandemic and sweeping social unrest. Biden could lock down the nomination within the next week as West Virginia and Georgia hold primaries, the AP reports. Those voting Tuesday included the District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Dakota. Two other states holding primary elections on Tuesday, Idaho and Iowa, chose their presidential nominee early in the year.

Biden and President Trump easily swept their respective primary contests, including the night’s biggest prize: Pennsylvania. The two men are certain to face each other on the presidential ballot in November, yet party rules require them first to accumulate a majority of delegates in the monthslong state-by-state primary season. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is not actively campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, having suspended his operation and endorsed Biden, but his name appeared on the ballots. On the eve of Tuesday's primaries, senior adviser Jeff Weaver encouraged progressives to vote for Sanders anyway to help maximize his influence in the direction of the Democratic Party. (More Joe Biden 2020 stories.)