Biden wins Virginia, and there are more questions than answers.
Prince William County was a symbol in the string of victories for former Vice President Joe Biden on Super Tuesday as he won the state of Virginia’s Democratic Primary. Despite not spending much financially in the area, Biden was able to win the state’s second largest county with 52.6% of the vote according to the Associated Press. Yorkshire was the only precinct in Prince William County that went to Senator Bernie Sanders. The remaining votes went to former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Heading into the rest of the primaries, there are a few questions to address:
What happened to the young voters? Sanders has incredible support among millennials and first-time voters with his progressive campaign to address issues such as student loan debt and climate change. However, the primary results slanted toward an older base voting at the polls, and if the Democratic party wants to have a unified base come November, they are going to need to have a candidate that can bring together the establishment and up and comers. Can Biden be that person if he takes the 1,991 delegates?
Why African Americans support Biden in overwhelming numbers? It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but in the case of Joe Biden, it breeds in delegate victories. One can point to Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina endorsement of Biden that led to his dominating victory on Saturday in the Palmetto State and throughout the South. Is it due to a monolithic mindset that Biden is a continuation of former President Barack Obama’s policies?
Does electability mean more than likeability? A resounding tone that has been echoed through all the candidates has been “We can defeat (President Donald) Trump!” Many voters who lean towards the left may be hesitant of supporting anyone who possibly cannot unseat the polarizing President. Are tonight’s victories for Biden a sign that people are voting more on getting an assured Democrat in the White House, even if the candidate doesn’t completely align with the issues that matter most to them?
What is the Republican response? With an increasing number of threats from the Coronavirus and a potential recession on the horizon, how does the GOP maintain their hold on the highest office in the land as well as the Senate? Now that the impeachment trials are over, will tonight’s results galvanize the right and prepare them for the potential reality of a Biden vs. Trump presidential race?
Although there are several questions that still need to be asked, there is one indisputable answer, and that is the number of voters. An encouraging sign is that in the Commonwealth the state broke a record for primary voting with nearly 1.3 million participants coming out, shattering the 2008 record. This was one of the biggest sticking points in the 2016 election and could bode well for the Democratic party in the fall, regardless of who wins the nomination.