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Joe Biden clinches Democratic presidential nomination, secures 1,991 delegates
Biden has been the presumptive Democratic nominee for weeks now, after Senator Bernie Sander, the last of his rival, quit the race and endorsed him.
Former Vice-President Joe Biden on Friday secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination at the party convention in Milwaukee slated for August this year.
Late results from the June 2 primaries took the former Vice-President to 1995 delegates, taking him across the threshold of 1,991 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination (Republicans have a different count and threshold).
“Folks, tonight we secured the 1,991 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination,” Biden wrote on twitter late Friday. “I’m going to spend every day fighting to earn your vote so that, together, we can win the battle for the soul of this nation.”
“This is a difficult time in America’s history. And Donald Trump’s angry, divisive politics is no answer,” he went on to say in a statement. “The country is crying out for leadership. Leadership that can unite us. Leadership that can bring us together. We need an economy that works for everyone — now. We need jobs that bring dignity — now. We need equal justice — and equal opportunities — for every American now. We need a president who cares about helping us heal — now.”
Biden has been the presumptive Democratic nominee for weeks now, after Senator Bernie Sander, the last of his rival, quit the race and endorsed him. He had secure enough delegates, however, to clinch it at the convention formally to take on President Donald Trump in November.
Biden had fallen marginally short of the delegate threshold on the night of June 2 primaries in seven states and Washington DC. That deficit was met by late results that came in on Friday.
Biden hit the campaign trail earlier this week after weeks of virtual town halls and meetings conducted from home in Delaware, forced by social distancing guidelines related to the Covid-19 epidemic. In a speech from Philadelphia, in a key swing state, he launched a scathing attack on Trump’s handling of the ongoing civil unrest against racial inequities.
The former vice-president has been ahead of the Trump in head-to-head polls. They are currently running 49.3 to 42.2 in the RealClearPolitics average of all polls.
The vice president had entered the Democratic race as frontrunner, with a claim on the legacy of President Barack Obama, who remains phenomenally popular among Democrats. He survived questions about his age and lack of enthusiasm and long enough to drag his floundering campaign to the South Carolina primaries.
He grabbed the state with a resounding victory, with the support of African American Democrats, that put him on course to the nomination. As moderate Democrats rallied to his side, he went on to win 10 of the 14 states that held primaries on March 4, Super Tuesday, taking a lead that grew unassailable over the next days and weeks.
