Biden and Sanders are in a cut-throat battle for the right to face Trump – the last thing the Democrats wanted

The former vice president has struck a blow to the Vermont senator’s ambitions with some big wins on Super Tuesday, but there is a long way to go, writes Chris Stevenson

Comeback trail: Biden addresses supporters at a rally in Los Angeles on Tuesday (Reuters)

The race to battle Donald Trump for the presidency is finally down to two – Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

There is no doubt that Biden had the better night on Super Tuesday. Using the momentum he gathered from a big win in South Carolina and an energised African-American vote to sweep the states in the south, as well as picking off a couple of states that Sanders won in 2016. He also won Texas after what had looked a knife-edge vote for hours.

Sanders will be disappointed, although he did win the most delegate-rich state – California – and other states out west. There is still a path to the nomination, but Biden has stolen a march on him. Some pundits are suggesting that Texas is likely a bellwether for the nation and whoever claimed victory would likely take the nomination.

How the delegates are split across each state will be key in a race that could be left without a clear winner by the time the Democrat convention rolls around. Some will not get counted for days, and final totals may not be released for weeks. With less than 100 delegates between them at this stage of the race, both candidates will be scrapping for as many as they can in the contests to come.

This is exactly what the Democrats didn’t want, two candidates having to go at each other in order to secure the chance to take on Trump, while the president and independents look on. The next Democrat debate is on 15 March and both Biden and Sanders – but particularly Sanders – will need to make a choice. Do they attack the other candidate directly, or pivot towards talking about taking on the Republicans and start making the argument for November? There is also the complicating factor of whether there will be anyone else still in the race by that point, and whether they be on the debate stage?

A long-drawn-out process will not help the Democrats in November, a brokered convention (ie one with no clear winner) would make for exciting news coverage, but not the days-worth of headlines party leadership would want.

Trump has the advantage of knowing who he has to convince to head to the polls on election day. Get the same supporters that voted for him in 2016 to do the same and the president has a decent chance of staying in the White House. It is the Democrats that have to convince more voters to come out – a low turnout, particularly in states that were close in 2016, will not help them.

To that end, the party needs a message of unity out of the conference in the summer, if not before. But with Sanders talking about “fighting the establishment” and Biden talking about being a “real Democrat”, it is tough to see a scenario where that happens quickly.

Biden has been helped by former candidates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar both endorsing him. Klobuchar’s endorsement in particular looks to have helped sway voters in her home state of Minnesota, where Biden picked up a win on Tuesday night. Another endorsement, from former Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke may have also aided Biden in Texas. Some on the left of the party, including congresswoman Ilhan Omar have hit out at Elizabeth Warren for not dropping out before Super Tuesday and endorsing Sanders, to consolidate support for the progressive candidate.

There is some consolation for Sanders: he has a good chance in a number of states that vote next week. He clearly did well in the west primaries last night, and Washington and Idaho are up next. Michigan and North Dakota, which Sanders won in 2016 also go to the polls, as does Missouri where he was close to taking victory in 2016. The one obviously promising state for Biden next week is Mississippi. Although, some states which Sanders won in 2016 have changed from caucuses to primaries and Sanders has had difficulty so far in maintaining the same success in states that have switched.

One thing is clear, we are going to see a knock-down, drag-out fight.