2020 Watch: Will Tuesday clinch the nomination for Biden?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential politics move fast. What we’re watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:
Days to next set of primaries (Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, District of Columbia): 1
Days to general election: 155
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THE NARRATIVE The only real open question going into Tuesday's eight primaries is whether Joe Biden will rack up enough votes to formally clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. That he we will win those contests is not in doubt.
The former vice president needs to win 89% of all delegates at stake to do so. That sounds easy since he's the last candidate standing in a once-crowded primary field. But supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have continued to urge voters to cast ballots for him so he can amass delegates and have a greater influence on the party policy platform ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
Biden has met the 89% threshold in only two contests since Super Tuesday: Mississippi (94%) and Nebraska (100%). Protests nationwide, as well as the coronavirus, meanwhile, continue to overshadow the presidential race. Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island all had earlier primaries that were pushed back to Tuesday because of the pandemic. New Jersey was supposed to vote Tuesday but delayed its primary until July 7.
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THE BIG QUESTIONS
Will mail-in voting pass another key test?
Nearly all of Tuesday's primary balloting will be by mail, just like in most of the states voting in recent weeks amid the vrius outbreak, including Ohio. Still, activists in Maryland and Pennsylvania have expressed concerns that delays in efforts to send ballots to eligible voters may mean they don't arrive in time for the primaries there — and similar problems could...