Vermont senator Bernie Sanders will “assess his campaign” for the Democratic nomination after his main rival Joe Biden made a clean sweep in three states.
Biden earned convincing victories in Arizona, Florida and Illinois to extend his lead in the running.
The former vice-president secured 61.9 per cent of the vote and 151 delegates in Florida, compared to Sanders’ 52 delegates with 22.8 per cent of the vote.
In Arizona with 99 per cent of precincts having declared, Sanders’ 31.7 per cent of the vote [28 delegates] was trumped by Biden’s 43.6 per cent total [37 delegates].
Meanwhile in the Illinois primary with all but one per cent of precincts declaring, Biden’s 93 delegates, secured with 59.1 per cent of the vote, dwarfed the 36 per cent of the vote and 60 delegates which Sanders secured.
Sanders’ campaign said that he will consider his options with his supporters.
His campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said: “The next primary contest is at least three weeks away. Senator Sanders is going to be having conversations with supporters to assess his campaign.
“In the immediate term, however, he is focused on the government response to the coronavirus outbreak and ensuring that we take care of working people and the most vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, Biden reached out to Sanders’ supporters in a call for unity, urging them to get behind him as the Democratic candidate to take on US president Donald Trump in November’s White House election.
