Former Vice President Joe Biden is lining up key endorsements ahead of pivotal Super Tuesday primaries in a bid to hold off Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
But there are early warning signs that Biden’s Super Tuesday gamble could result in an underwhelming performance — or even a disaster.
The Democratic party machine is desperate to stop current frontrunner Sanders, who many see as too liberal and extreme to defeat incumbent President Donald Trump.
As Democrats in 14 states cast their primary ballots today, Biden has tried to shore up the moderate vote. He’s secured endorsements from former challengers, including former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
O’Rourke, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg are all seen as fellow moderates whose supporters may naturally migrate to Biden.
But that may be a mistake waiting to happen.
First of all, there’s no guarantee that the supporters of the three former candidates will vote at all. Despite a recent win in the South Carolina primary, Biden has been an underwhelming candidate, and it’s possible that O’Rourke, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg backers will stay home and sit on their hands.
Second, it may be an error in judgment to cast Klobuchar and Buttigieg supporters as strictly moderate. Klobuchar was seeking to become the first female president, and Buttigieg would have been the first openly gay man to hold the office.
Klobuchar and Buttigieg supporters may very well include many Americans looking for more diversity in the Oval Office. In short, there are likely many activists in the fold — and it could be a mistake to assume that they’ll gravitate toward Biden, instead of a more activist candidate like Sanders.
Many Sanders’ voters believe he was wrongly denied the Democratic party’s 2016 presidential nomination. And the attempt to hastily align moderates behind Biden ahead of Super Tuesday may motivate more Sanders supporters to show up at the polls.
One of Biden’s greatest problems may be a common foe of many aspiring politicians — the weather.
Biden has hoped to perform well in Super Tuesday in Southern states, but severe thunderstorms and flooding are predicted today across large swaths of the South. That could spell trouble for voter turnout, and Sanders has outspent Biden in many other primary states.
It’s clear that Biden has made a gamble to become the sole moderate opponent to Sanders — but whether Biden’s strategy will pay off remains to be seen.
Biden has a history of failing to meet expectations. Don’t be surprised if this Super Tuesday delivers more of the same.
The Horn editorial team