Joe Biden on course for primary clean sweep

Joe Biden looks set for a sweeping victory against Bernie Sanders in critical primary contests on Wednesday.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders face off in Washington on Monday. Picture: AP

Joe Biden looks set for a sweeping victory against Bernie Sanders in critical primary contests on Wednesday (AEDT) despite fears of chaos at voting centres because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ohio Democratic primary was thrown into uncertainty after leaders called off the vote just hours before polls were set to open, citing the need to combat COVID-19. Officials in Florida, Arizona and Illinois said they would go ahead with their votes.

Not since New York City postponed its mayoral primary on the day of the September 11, 2001, attacks has an election been put off in such a high-profile, far-reaching way. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine initially asked a court to delay the vote, and when a judge refused to do so, the state’s health director declared a health emergency that would prevent the polls from opening.

It is now unclear when the Ohio primary will be held. Officials feared a low turnout because of people’s concerns about gathering in groups at a time when Donald Trump has advised against gatherings of more than 10 people.

Measures have been put in place to keep distances between voters, with frequent hand washing and the disinfection of equipment by poll workers.

Polls on the eve of the primaries gave Mr Biden double-digit leads in all four states, making it difficult for Senator Sanders to fight his way back into the Democratic presidential contest.

A comfortable victory by the former vice-president in these states would effectively wrap up the Democratic nomination for him. If so, Senator Sanders will come under strong pressure from Democrat elders to withdraw from the race rather than fight all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July and risk fracturing the party’s unity ahead of the presidential election in November.

In Florida, which has 219 delegates, Mr Biden, 77, holds a commanding lead of 65 per cent to 26 per cent, according to the RealClear Politics average of polls.

Senator Sanders, 78, usually polls well in states with high Latino populations but he angered many of Florida’s staunchly anti-communist Cuban and South American immigrants with his recent comments praising the education system under Fidel Castro.

Mr Biden also holds a lead of 69 per cent to 30 per cent (RCP) over Senator Sanders in Illinois (worth 155 delegates) while in Arizona (67 delegates) he is leading 52 per cent to 34 per cent (RCP).

Polls in Ohio (136 delegates) show Mr Biden leading 58 per cent to 35 per cent.

Governor Mr DeWine said earlier it would be against the new health guidelines to allow voters to gather in large numbers to vote.

“We cannot conduct this election tomorrow, the in-person voting for 13 hours tomorrow and conform to guidelines,” he said. “I believe when we look back on this, we’ll be happy we did this.”

However, judge Richard Frye ruled later that it was too late to move back the primary. “We’re here at 7 o’clock, 12 hours before the election. I don’t believe the plaintiffs have proceeded in a timely manner,” he said. “And for that matter, I don’t believe the secretary of state has proceeded in a timely manner himself.”

Several other states with upcoming primary contests are considering delaying them until the crisis subsides. Georgia and Louisiana have already postponed primaries that had been set for March 24 and April 4.

Senator Sanders appeared to endorse a delay, saying: “That is a very good question. I’m thinking about some of the elderly people sitting behind the desks registering people to enrol, that stuff. Does that make a lot of sense? I’m not sure that it does.”

The pandemic has forced both candidates to conduct virtual campaign events rather than appear in person following the cancellation of all rallies last week in response to the spread of the virus.

Senator Sanders on Tuesday moved to exploit the most contentious exchange of his debate with Mr Biden on Monday by releasing a video to back his claims that Mr Biden once talked of freezing ­social security benefits. Mr Biden during the debate strongly denied ever voting to freeze or reduce benefits.

The first one-on-one debate between the two men saw a series of sharp exchanges as Senator Sanders criticised Mr Biden’s ­record on gay marriage, abortion, the Iraq war, free-trade agreements and his alleged financial support from millionaires.

Mr Biden countered by attacking his rival’s record on gun control and his Medicare-for-All scheme, which he described as ­uncosted and unachievable.

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia