Bernie Sanders lost his bet on Tuesday March 10. Distanced by former vice-president Joe Biden in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the independent senator of Vermont had concentrated his forces on one of the six states which declared themselves, Michigan, the richest in delegates (125 ), where he had created the surprise four years earlier. He had beaten then favorite, Hillary Clinton, with a short head, relaunching an improbable campaign.
The miracle was not repeated. Beaten dryly by Joe Biden, who got almost 16 points more than him, Bernie Sanders, on the contrary, lost ground again. Crushed in Mississippi, largely dominated in Missouri, it was also overtaken in Idaho. The Vermont senator has won only North Dakota and is only a short head ahead of his opponent in Washington state, according to partial results of the night.
After canceling, as a precaution, due to coronavirus, the meeting scheduled for the same evening in Ohio, just like his opponent, Bernie Sanders returned home in Burlington, Vermont, where he remained silent.
Helpful vote
The accumulating results are not encouraging. On Tuesday, the former vice-president was carried by the same springs that led to a spectacular comeback two weeks earlier. The majority of voters who spoke made it a priority, like those of Super Tuesday, March 3, the victory against Donald Trump, in November, considering that Joe Biden is best placed to obtain it. This useful vote and this sense of urgency have relegated to the background "The political revolution" defended by Bernie Sanders, articulated around daring proposals such as universal social security, free higher education and the erasure of a huge student debt, a legacy of the 2008 financial crisis.
On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders lost ground almost everywhere, especially in the suburbs, which brought a Democratic majority to the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections in November 2018. Joe Biden widened his biggest gaps there, in Mississippi as in Missouri and Michigan.
The senator from Vermont retained the vote of the youngest, the most concerned by his proposals, but the latter were comparatively less mobilized than the older generations. He had already publicly regretted this deficit after March 3. He could only see it again on Tuesday evening. It deprives him of a central argument, hammered for months.
