Amid coronavirus concerns, Biden celebrates primary wins in Philly

Former vice president Joe Biden had a good night Tuesday. 

As of midnight, he had won Mississippi, Missouri and the key swing state of Michigan, and was leading in Idaho. Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was leading in North Dakota and Washington. 

Biden declared that his campaign “is taking off” but celebrating those victories was a little more difficult.

After canceling a planned rally in Cleveland, Ohio over concerns the large crowd could spread coronavirus, Biden’s campaign made a last-minute detour to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia where, Biden noted, “we announced our campaign on the front end.”

Biden wasn’t the only one improvising Tuesday.

His opponent, Sanders, also called off his primary night event in Cleveland. Sanders opted to head home to Burlington, Vt., but unlike Biden, didn’t make any public appearances as returns came in.

Biden’s campaign has been on an upswing since his Super Tuesday wins a week ago.

His victory in Michigan — a state that Sanders won in 2016 — is the latest evidence that some of the white, working-class voters who once supported Sanders now back Biden.

Biden also won by wide margins in Mississippi and Missouri. Both states are home to large numbers of Black voters, and the New York Times reported that exit polls in Mississippi, for one, showed that more than 80 percent of African Americans cast ballots for Biden.

In Philadelphia, the former vice president concentrated on that apparent momentum.

“Just over a week ago, many of the pundits declared that this candidacy was dead,” he said. “Now we’re very much alive.”

An average of recent national polls puts Biden eighteen points ahead of Sanders.

Next week Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Ohio hold their primaries.