"Look, fat," it’s time to drop out. That’s what former Vice President Joe Biden should say to Sen. Bernie Sanders. It’s all but over. Super Tuesday 2.0 was a disaster for Bernie, a total rout. Missouri and Mississippi were called immediately, as Biden just outright dominated among black Democrats. This aspect of the race alone has become clearer: if you’re losing to this group by the margins Sanders has in his two presidential runs, you can’t win. I know his loss of support in the North is what’s being talked about, but his overall presidential ambitions were once again clipped by Black Democrats, who now know where he stands on the issues. They don’t want a left-wing revolution.
Decision Desk HQ Projects @joebiden has won the Michigan Democratic Primaryhttps://t.co/nN9pasUzal
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) March 11, 2020
I've seen enough: Joe Biden wins the Michigan primary.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 11, 2020
Joe Biden is the winner in the state of Michigan, according to our projections https://t.co/uC2tNBEwdc
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) March 11, 2020
Pretty straightforward story in Michigan: Biden doing better than Clinton just about everywhere. Won't be a race call until all the polls are closed, but at this rate it wouldn't surprise me if there wound up being enough for a call at that point
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) March 11, 2020
Two reasons Sanders isn't turning out nearly as many young voters as he did in 2016 (even though he's still winning them by big margins):
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 11, 2020
1) He's no longer new/novel on the scene
2) Much of his '16 support was anti-Hillary Clinton. '20's Sanders alternatives less polarizing.
Just got a lot of Wayne Co.: Biden up 105k to 82k there. Possible these results don't include city of Detroit? Would expect Biden margin there to ultimately be wider given exits on AA vote & everything else we're seeing across the state.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 11, 2020
I personally don't think any of the states next week (FL-AZ-OH-IL) are as favorable to Sanders as Michigan. HRC carried them all last time and only IL was close -- and Sanders was dependent there, as in MI, on outstate anti-HRC backing that seems to be deserting him now
— Kyle Kondik (@kkondik) March 11, 2020
Joe Biden won Michigan with two-thirds of the vote from black voters, voters 45 or older, moderates and conservatives, and voters who made up their minds this month, NBC News Exit Poll shows. https://t.co/kBPrVUPlVQ pic.twitter.com/iwOuLWCwg0
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 11, 2020
OK, NBC declares Biden the winner in MICHIGAN, to go with his victories in Missouri and Mississippi. The #SuperTuesday trend of March 3 is continuing. Close to...the obvious end. #Primaries2020
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) March 11, 2020
Basically all of Sanders' 2016 precincts in the northern/western parts of Oakland County, Michigan flipping to Biden.
— J. Miles Coleman (@JMilesColeman) March 11, 2020
This was 61%-38% for Sanders in 2016 --> https://t.co/Pzu9wVS83s
— J. Miles Coleman (@JMilesColeman) March 11, 2020
In Michigan, Bernie looked like he was heading into an iceberg. His strength among rural white working-class voters in 2016 is gone. These people are now Trump supporters. Nate Cohn of The New York Times noted that whatever support he’s lost with this group; Sanders has been able to make it up with Latino support. Bernie’s Latino outreach has been excellent, but Michigan isn’t Latino-heavy, nor are most of the states as this contest heads East.
CBS News projects Joe Biden wins the Michigan primary. Some groups supporting Biden. pic.twitter.com/e9w5drYa0c
— CBS News Poll (@CBSNewsPoll) March 11, 2020
Late deciders continue to be a key story of this election. Notable from our polling team: In Missouri and Michigan, half of primary voters "decided on their candidate this month (since the South Carolina primary) and more than half of those voters are going for Biden."
— Caitlin Huey-Burns (@CHueyBurns) March 11, 2020
Bernie won Michigan in 2016, an upset after Hillary Clinton was shown to be in the lead by double digits. Now, the opposite has happened. All the areas he won four years ago flipped for Biden. Kalamazoo County was the bellwether. Bernie won this county by 20+ points in 2016. Now, he barely won it by 0.4 percent, a virtual tie. The writing was on the wall. Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman called it before the networks, but NBC News, Fox News, Decision Desk HQ, and others have followed suit.
This is a gut punch to Bernie, whose lead in the delegate count will now venture into insurmountable territory.