Politics
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has the most to gain if Massachussetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren drops out of the presidential race, according to an Insider national survey. About 70% of Warren's supporters would also be satisfied if Sanders was the Democratic nominee, Insider found.
- Former Vice President Joe Biden pulled off a stunning campaign comeback, winning in most of the Super Tuesday states. Sanders is currently in the lead for the biggest prize: California.
- Sanders and Biden are set for a showdown moving forward, and calls for Warren to drop out are rising among Sanders' supporters.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
As the dust settles from a surprising Super Tuesday, one fact has clearly emerged: the race for the Democratic nomination is now a two-way contest between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.
And now, all eyes on are on Elizabeth Warren's campaign. Warren had a disastrous Super Tuesday, failing to come in higher than third in any of the contests, despite a February that featured headline-grabbing takedowns of Michael Bloomberg in two consecutive debates and a record fundraising haul for her campaign.
Warren was reportedly weighing her options on Wednesday. Campaign manager Roger Lau emailed staffers that she is "going to take time right now to think through the right way to continue this fight," the Washington Post reported.
Sanders, who is now neck-and-neck with Biden, would stand to benefit the most if Warren dropped out, Insider's national survey found.
About 70% of Warren's supporters would also be satisfied if Sanders was the Democratic nominee, indicating there is significant overlap between the two candidates' bases.
Biden was a satisfactory choice for about 55% of Warren supporters, an indication that he could also pick up some of Warren's voters if she dropped out.
Biden won a majority of the 14 states up for grabs, while Sanders won his home state of Vermont and on Wednesday was leading the race for Super Tuesday's big prize: California, the state with the most delegates.
Reading the tea leaves, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg quickly dropped out after his half-a-billion dollar campaign failed to deliver him any states and endorsed Biden.
Warren is now far behind in the delegate count, and will likely face pressure from both Sanders and Biden's supporters to exit the race.
President Donald Trump tried to stoke these divisons on Twitter Wednesday morning, tweeting that "If Elizabeth Warren wasn't in the race, Bernie Sanders would have EASILY won Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, not to mention various other states... she may very well go down as the all time great SPOILER!"
After the Super Tuesday results came in, some Warren supportes said they were shifting their support to Sanders.
Paul Newell, a Democratic district leader in New York City, tweeted that he was shifting his support from Warren to Sanders.
"As a pledged delegate candidate for Warren, this was not an easy decision," he wrote. "But supporting Sanders is now the only path to the big, structural change that Warren champions."
But others expressed concerns that the last serious female contender in the race was being pressured to drop out so that two men would have a clearer path to victory.
"If you're upset Warren isn't dropping out in service of Bernie you need to sit down and think about why you're reaffirming the very power structures you say you want to overthrow," feminist author and journalist Liz Plank tweeted.
So far, Warren had indicated that she would continue press on to the next round of primaries.
On Tuesday night, she bounded onto the stage at a rally in Detroit with her characteristic energy and declared: "My name is Elizabeth Warren, and I'm the woman who's going to beat Donald Trump."
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Wow! If Elizabeth Warren wasn't in the race, Bernie Sanders would have EASILY won Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, not to mention various other states. Our modern day Pocahontas won't go down in history as a winner, but she may very well go down as the all time great SPOILER!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2020