Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

North Dakota caucus result: Bernie Sanders claims consolation victory after Biden dominates 'Big Tuesday'

Former vice president saw wins to cement his formidable lead in the race

Clark Mindock
New York
Wednesday 11 March 2020 14:19 GMT
Comments
(AFP via Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Bernie Sanders has won the North Dakota caucuses, marking his first win over Joe Biden after voters in six states voted on Tuesday.

The race was called on Wednesday morning, hours after voters went to their caucus locations in the midwestern state.

Mr Sanders, whose campaign has floundered in recent weeks as the former vice president has energized a diverse coalition in a surprising comeback across the country, was also leading in the Washington primary on Wednesday as votes continued to be tallied in the state that has a heavy focus on mail-in ballots.

Mr Biden, meanwhile, won the contests in Idaho, Michigan, Missouri and Mississippi.

The former vice president's domination on Tuesday came just a week after Super Tuesday, when voters across the South and elsewhere rallied behind the candidate and shot him into a lead among delegates in the primary.

And, those votes came just days after Mr Biden appeared to revive his campaign with a win in the South Carolina primary — his first win in the 2020 race, as well as his first across three runs for president dating back to the 1980s.

Now, after Mr Sanders seemed poised to become the dominant force in the 2020 race, the Vermont senator is facing an uncertain and quickly narrowing path to the democratic nomination.

With Mr Biden beating Mr Sanders by wide margins in states like Michigan — predominantly white states with big union populations — it is unclear whether Mr Sanders can continue to make the argument that he is the best poised candidate to take on Donald Trump in November among disaffected white voters who have largely been credited with the presidents upset victory nearly four years ago.

The next states to vote in the primary process will be Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Arizona, and Mr Biden is favoured to win a majority of delegates from each of those contests.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in