By Gian Capolino
Staff Reporter
The Democratic Party’s nomination process to determine who their 2020 presidential candidate will be has rapidly developed into a two-man race between Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Vice President Joe Biden.
The last two major candidates, Biden and Sanders represent the current divide in the Democratic party between more traditional moderates, led by Biden, and a new wave of progressive “democratic socialists” who support Sanders. This divide is represented among Sacred Heart students as well.
“Senator Bernie Sanders has many progressive ideas that really excite me for the future of the Democratic Party and the upcoming election, and possibly the future of our country,” said sophomore Daniela Miceli.
Sanders, who was the runner-up for the Democratic Nomination in the 2016 presidential election, has run a campaign similar to his 2016 campaign, focusing on providing Medicare for all and expanding other government programs in an attempt to fix income gaps and wealth inequality in the country.
Biden has called for a more moderate approach in his 2020 bid for the Democratic nomination. This includes expanding on the achievements of the Obama Administration and working with Republicans in Congress in a bipartisan way to achieve their goals.
The race began with over two dozen candidates of diverse backgrounds, genders, races and levels of experience. However, after several months of campaigning and debates, Biden has become the candidate that most of the moderate members of the Democratic Party have rallied behind at this point in the race.
According to the Associated Press, Biden has received endorsements from several of his former rivals, including Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Mike Bloomberg, Tim Ryan, Deval Patrick, and John Delaney. Senator Sanders has been endorsed only by Marianne Williamson and Bill de Blasio, neither of whom generated much support in the primary, and both of whom dropped out of the race very early on. Elizabeth Warren has so far declined to endorse another candidate since she dropped from the race.
The race was altered dramatically after the results of several states voting in their primaries on March 3 (known as “Super Tuesday” in the world of politics). Biden was given a huge boost when rivals Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg dropped out the day before the voting and gave him their endorsements.
The results of the Super Tuesday votes suggested a major win for Biden. According to the Associated Press, Biden was victorious in 10 states, while Sanders only picked up four. Sanders entered Super Tuesday leading in the delegate count, but Biden left as the frontrunner. Biden has 664 delegates, while Sanders currently has 573, according to the Associated Press.
The primary will continue until either Biden or Sanders reaches the mark of 1,991 delegates. At that point, the candidate wins the nomination and moves on to the general election, which takes place in November. If neither candidate reaches 1,991 delegates, a contested convention will be held at the Democratic National Convention to determine who the nominee will be.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
