Sanders Has Just One Thing Left to Fight For: Influence
After three more primary losses, the Vermont senator’s ticket to relevance is mobilizing supporters behind Biden.
Done.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThe only surprise in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries was that former Vice President Joe Biden only won three blowouts — including a nearly 40 percentage-point romp in Florida — rather than the four originally scheduled. But that’s just because Ohio postponed its primary until June.
After the contests in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, the schedule now calls for at least a one-month break. Little is scheduled until April 28, and even that minimal activity could easily be moved back further in response to the coronavirus epidemic. That, along with Biden’s commanding lead, is producing a lot of calls for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to drop out. It won’t matter much whether he does or doesn’t. Biden has essentially won the nomination, and with the coronavirus dominating the news and normal campaigning suspended, no one is going to pay much attention to Sanders whether he’s technically a candidate or not. Nor will it make much difference to the fall campaign whether Sanders endorses Biden now or later.