Voters in three states braved coronavirus fears to head to the primary polls on Tuesday, with former Vice President Joe Biden looking to expand his already commanding Democratic delegate lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Arizona, Florida and Illinois all held their contests despite federal recommendations to avoid gatherings of 10 people or more, with a cumulative 441 party delegates up for grabs between the states.
Ohio, home to an additional 136 Democratic delegates, was also slated to vote on Tuesday, but Gov. Mike DeWine won out in an eleventh-hour legal battle with a state judge to postpone the primary to guard against further contamination.
The Buckeye State is now tentatively scheduled to hold its primary on June 2.
Of the three states still voting Tuesday, Florida is the biggest prize with 219 party delegates, while Illinois holds 155 and Arizona has 67.
Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, lost all four states to Hillary Clinton in 2016, and polls project Biden to continue the run of moderate dominance this year.
A clean sweep would heap even more pressure to concede on Sanders, who entered Tuesday with 745 delegates to Biden’s 898.
A candidate needs the backing of 1,991 delegates to clinch the nomination and avoid a tense brokering process at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Biden wins Arizona, sweeps Tuesday’s Democratic primaries
Joe Biden has snagged Arizona — winning all three of Tuesday’s primaries, according to a CNN projection.
The Grand Canyon State had 67 delegates at stake.
A Monmouth University survey released on Monday put Biden up on Sen. Bernie Sanders by 20 percentage points.
In that survey, the Vermont lawmaker’s lead among Latino voters — a strong demographic for him — was just seven points.
Polls in Arizona closed at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Biden secures Illinois win
The Land of Lincoln loves Joe Biden.
The former Vice President swept Illinois’ primary — which had 155 delegates at stake, according to an Associated Press projection.
Recent polling averages from RealClearPolitics showed Biden with a 30% lead over his top rival Sen. Bernie Sanders.
A survey of Illinois voters conducted over a month ago had the Vermont lawmaker ahead — back when he was still considered the frontrunner.
The Prairie State’s primary was plagued with low voter turnout and reports of issues such as closed polling places and missing equipment.
Polls there closed at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Biden basks in Florida victory
Joe Biden has won the Sunshine State in a blowout.
The former vice president has feasted in Florida in a massive win over Sen. Bernie Sanders, with multiple news outlets calling the runaway race as soon as the polls closed at 8 pm ET.
With nearly 80 percent of the vote tallied, Biden held a commanding 60.9 percent to 22.7 percent lead.
The night’s biggest prize, Florida is home to 219 party delegates, the biggest share of which will now be apportioned to Biden.
Biden was expected to cruise to victory in the perennial swing state, which Vermont lawmaker Sanders also lost in 2016 to then-rival Hillary Clinton.
A RealClearPolitics polling average from earlier this month had Biden with a whopping 64.7-percent of the respondents, more than doubling Sanders’ 25.7-percent.