Joe Biden picked up an early win in Florida, the biggest delegate prize in Tuesday’s three contests, and in Illinois. Voters also went to the polls in Arizona, with the scheduled contest in Ohio postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Florida Democratic Party said the number of Democrats who have voted early in person and by mail has exceeded turnout in the primaries in 2016.
Polls will close in Arizona at 10 p.m. ET.
Ohio was also supposed to vote Tuesday, but after the state closed the polls, citing warnings about the spread of coronavirus, the state Supreme Court agreed with the decision, ruling early Tuesday that Ohio’s primary could be moved to July 2.
Other states, too, have been moving their primaries in response to the virus. Georgia, which had been scheduled to vote on March 24, has postponed its primary until May. Louisiana, which had been set to vote on April 24, has postponed its primary until June.
The effects of the virus have already taken hold on the 2020 election. Biden and Bernie Sanders participated in a debate on Sunday night in Washington D.C. without a live audience. Coronavirus took center stage as both candidates were pressed on what they would do to address the pandemic.
“This is bigger than any one of us,” Biden said. “This calls for a national rallying of everybody together.”
