Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden. Photo / AP
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden. Photo / AP
Editorial
EDITORIAL:
Like a team that finally clicks after a run of uncertain, stuttering performances, the engine of the Democratic Party finally roared to life this week.
It's an engine powered by the party's liberal to moderate core, including many members of its most influential wing, African American voters.
This vastmiddle membership of the party, with a bit of prodding from party elders, appears to want former Vice-President Joe Biden to take the fight to US President Donald Trump in November.
The primary battle will continue for some months as rival Senator Bernie Sanders competes for the remaining 62 per cent of delegates, but Super Tuesday has tilted the trajectory of the race in Biden's favour. He has confounded expectations by grabbing a delegate lead for now and his moderate competitors have cleared the decks for him.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Los Angeles. Photo / AP
Many Democrats will now have extra confidence the party is on the right track. Partly that comes from Biden's stunning performance on the day, but he also demonstrated strength across the board.
Biden was competing in some states where he had little advertising and organisational presence or had barely visited. He hardly had a "ground game" running— there were no Biden campaign offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Minnesota, Oklahoma or Tennessee. They were all states which he won.
He rode the momentum of his comeback victory in South Carolina on Sunday to a sweep of the south on Wednesday, on the back of heavy African American support. Latinos, a growing Democratic voting bloc, so far have preferred Sanders. But Biden also unexpectedly won in the north in states which have high percentages of white voters such as Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maine.
Two wins were in crucial November battlegrounds— Virginia and North Carolina. In another pointer to November, Biden also did well with both white-and-blue-collar white voters. That suggests he could force a fight on Trump's 2016 turf. Upcoming contests in the Rust Belt states of Michigan and Ohio will be watched closely.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Photo / AP
Biden's Super Tuesday support resembled the Democrats' successful coalition which won the House of Representatives in the 2018 Midterm elections. The turnout was exceptionally high for a Midterm and anti-Trump, white suburban voters were a key to victory. On Super Tuesday, that phenomenon was repeated.
Turnout in three states Biden won — Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas — was notably high. The Sanders campaign has pitched that he is the most electable candidate because he can bring in new voters, including young voters. It hasn't happened so far. Sanders wins voters aged under 30, but turnout among that group was only 10 to 15 per cent on Wednesday. Voters in the 65 andover group, who favour Biden, made up 29 per cent.
Can Biden maintain this momentum?
With people and markets jittery about coronavirus, an experienced, relaxed hand on the tiller might be appealing. Biden will be hoping voters want a return of the "No drama Obama" days.
