“Super Tuesday II”: Michigan, Missouri, Washington & More Are Voting Today

All eyes are on Bernie vs. Biden, one week after Super Tuesday defined a clear competition between the two.

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Getty Images

On March 10 (yes, another Tuesday), voters in six states head to the polls: Michigan, Missouri, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Mississippi.

One week after Super Tuesday, the day some pundits are calling “Super Tuesday II” could prove to be a pivotal moment in the race for the Democratic nomination. As of Tuesday morning, Biden has 670 delegates and Sanders has 574. (Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has not yet withdrawn from the race, has 2.)

Among the six states, 352 delegates are up for grabs. A candidate needs 1,991 delegates in order to secure the nomination.

Michigan in particular is important because it offers 125 delegates in total and is a key battleground state. Sanders beat Hillary Clinton there in 2016 by a small margin, and in the general election, Donald Trump was able to beat Clinton there by a small margin. Trump’s unexpected victory with the margin of 0.23% was the narrowest margin in Michigan's presidential election history, and gave the state’s 16 electoral college votes to Trump — a key factor in Trump’s ultimate win.

Within the Democratic primary, Michigan is also an important test for the candidates because of its diverse electorate: working-class white and Black voters as well as suburbanites.

So far, Sanders has struggled with Black voters, especially compared with Biden’s popularity among that demographic. Reporting from Detroit has shown that many Michigan voters also have a positive view of Biden because of his role in the Obama administration’s bailout of the auto industry, echoing a slogan that popped up during the 2012 re-election campaign: “Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.”

It's not all roses for Biden out in Michigan, though — he had a tense, awkward situation when a union worker said he's "actively trying to diminish Second Amendment rights." Watch below.

According to FiveThirtyEight, Sanders looks strongest in Washington state (where he had a huge victory in the 2016 primary), Idaho, and North Dakota, but the latest polls show the race is extremely close. Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and statistics provided by the Secretary of State show that almost 1 million ballots had already been returned by March 3: meaning some Washington votes may have already been cast for Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, who were still in the race at that time.

Tuesday is also the deadline for Democrats Abroad (a.k.a. international voters who are U.S. citizens) to turn in their votes. An additional 13 delegates are up for grabs from this group.

We’ll have the latest results and will stream candidate speeches on NowThis Politics tonight.

Polls in Mississippi, Missouri, and North Dakota close at 8 pm ET; in Michigan at 8-9 pm ET (multiple time zones); and in Idaho and Washington at 11 pm ET. Ballots in Washington, which is an entirely vote-by-mail state, have to be dropped off by 8 pm local time, which means we’ll have to wait some 24-48 hours before those are fully counted. We may see partial results from Washington tonight.

The next Democratic debate is on Sunday, March 15.

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