US: Biden sweeps primaries in states of FL, AZ, IL

ANKARA

Strengthening his virtual lock on the Democratic nod for president, Joe Biden on Tuesday swept party primaries in a trio of key states from east to west: Florida, Illinois, and Arizona.

Former Vice President Biden was already leading the Democratic presidential race after securing strong victories against Senator Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday and last week's primaries.

"Today, it looks like once again, in Florida and Illinois — we’re still waiting to hear from Arizona — our campaign has had a very good night," Biden said in a livestreamed speech on Tuesday.

Sanders is not mathematically out of the race yet, but he is unlikely to appear at the Democratic National Convention, set for July, with a delegate majority.

Biden added that while he and Sanders "may disagree on tactics," they "share a common vision" of defeating incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump in November.

Sanders has not yet spoken on the primary results.

In Florida, 219 delegates are up for grabs, and Biden leads Sanders by nearly 40 %, or nearly 670,000 votes.

With 86% of precincts reporting in Illinois, Biden boasted a roughly 23-point lead over Sanders. In Arizona, early results showed Biden with a roughly 13-point advantage.

The Midwestern state of Ohio was slated to vote on Tuesday as well, but state officials postponed the contest at the last minute to June amid concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.