Joe Biden’s stunning Super Tuesday victories underscore a timeless truth about American politics: For presidential candidates, intensity of support matters, but breadth of support matters even more.
Biden swept nine of the 14 states that held contests yesterday. With strong support from African-American, moderate and suburban voters, he rolled up big margins across the South and Southwest. But he also managed to capture states in the Midwest and the Northeast.
With the backing of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Biden took Minnesota by nine points. That had to be a major disappointment to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who easily carried the state against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
In the night’s biggest shocker, Biden handily beat next door neighbor Sanders in Massachusetts, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren suffered a humiliating third-place finish in her home state. Meanwhile, Biden and Sanders are locked in what looks like a virtual tie in Maine.
In one sense, Sanders didn’t have a terrible night. He won at home in Vermont, as well as Colorado, Utah and California, the biggest prize, and came close in Texas.
But those numbers mask the fundamental weakness of Sanders’ position. Although he was the frontrunner before yesterday, Sanders has not made the transition from a political insurgent railing against the Democratic “establishment” to a plausible nominee of a broad and diverse party coalition.
