As COVID-19 permeates through the United States and expands around the world, politics remain at the forefront of American citizens’ minds. Many watch the daily briefings of both President Donald J. Trump and Democratic Primary Candidate Vice President Joe Biden and see two distinct futures for America. These two distinct futures will be juxtaposed together in the fall once the general election heats up.
While Vice President Joe Biden is the preemptive nominee of the Democratic Primary, the race is all but over. Vice President Biden currently has 1,217 delegates while opponent Independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders has 914 delegates. FiveThirtyEight, an independent polls consultant, gave Vice President Joe Biden a greater than 99% chance to win the Democratic Primary in their April 7, 2020 poll analysis. This is because Vice President Biden has won in every primary state to date excluding California and North Dakota. Five Thirty Eight’s 99% chance came true the week of April 13, 2020, as Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race and endorsed Joe Biden. Senator Sander’s endorsement is seen as a critical component of uniting the party around Vice President Biden. Senator Sander’s endorsement was followed up by the April 14, 2020 endorsement of Joe Biden by President Barack Obama. President Barack Obama’s endorsement holds tremendous value and gravity considering he is the most popular and approved of politician in the United States. Citing the pandemic, President Obama stated in his endorsement video, “Joe has the character and the experience to guide us through one of our darkest times.” This sentiment was echoed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, a progressive icon, when she endorsed Vice President Biden on April 15, 2020.
The Democratic Primary, at the inception of the race, had the most candidates in the history of the United States. Now each of those candidates has aligned behind Vice President Biden and to Biden’s credit, he has graciously accepted each endorsement vowing to fight for each person, and thus embracing the “Not me-Us” mantra of the Democratic Party.
