Former Vice President Joe Biden took an even stronger hold on the Democratic race for the White House on Tuesday night, easily winning a majority of delegates in voting from six states, notching big wins in Michigan, Missouri, and Mississippi, and adding to his overall delegate lead.
“Together we are bringing this party together," Biden said in Philadelphia.
Instead of speaking to a big campaign rally jammed with a cheering crowd, Biden canceled a planned event in Cleveland over worries surrounding the Coronavirus.
He used his remarks to a smaller group of supporters to urge his critics to join his campaign.
“I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion," Biden said. "We share a common goal, and together we’ll defeat Donald Trump.”
While Biden is still far away from the magic number to clinch the Democratic Party nomination, his wins last night made it that much more difficult for Sanders to catch him.
With his own campaign event in Cleveland also canceled because of the Coronavirus, Sanders went back to his home town of Burlington, Vermont, as he did a week ago on Super Tuesday.
But unlike Super Tuesday, Sanders made no statement to cameras or reporters, a highly unusual move during a presidential primary race.
"Tonight's a tough night," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) acknowledged in a live chat on Instagram as the votes came in.
Some of his top supporters vowed to press on.
Next up are four important states for November - Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, and Florida, as 577 delegates are at stake next week, with a debate planned for Sunday night in Phoenix between Biden and Sanders.