Former Vice President Joe Biden got even closer to becoming the official 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Monday night following a landslide win over Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Wisconsin.
Biden led Sanders by over 300 delegates heading into the night, and is expected to take home the vast majority of the 97 delegates in Wisconsin. Biden became the presumptive nominee last week after Sanders dropped out, making the former vice president the only Democrat remaining with an active campaign. The election has been overshadowed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has caused several primaries across the country to be delayed. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: Jan. 21: Fauci Says Coronavirus ‘Not A Major Threat’ To U.S.)
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers had attempted to delay his state’s election, but was rebuffed by the state’s conservative Supreme Court, which issued a 4-2 ruling last Monday declaring that the election must go on as scheduled. Despite fears over the virus, Wisconsin voters across the state lined up in droves to vote the next day. (RELATED: Donald Trump Jr. To Headline Lincoln Day Dinner In Wisconsin)
Polls open in minutes. Here’s a look at the line in Waukesha, the city’s only polling location pic.twitter.com/Uqg08gannt
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) April 7, 2020
In Wisconsin voters go to the polls. Yesterday the Wi Supreme Court ruled against the Governors decision to postpone pic.twitter.com/8dLOa1guCD
— Myra Sanchick (@myrasanchick) April 7, 2020
The saga in Wisconsin is likely to set off a fierce political battle over voting in the U.S. Some Democrats have demanded that funding for mail in voting be included in future coronavirus stimulus packages, while Republicans have pushed back, arguing that a vote by mail system would increase instances of voter fraud.