It certainly looks like Joe Biden is having a very strong night. It’s hard to conceive of just how stark a comeback or reversal this is, hard to remember when in recent American electoral history there’s been anything like it. Biden spent most of February in complete free fall, not just losing but an epic collapse. Two weeks later it looks like he’s on the verge of putting together a prohibitive lead that simply won’t be possible for Sanders to overcome. The dynamics were pretty clearly in place before the Coronavirus took over the national conversation. But it’s hard not to think a national climate of fear and risk aversion is helping solidify or accelerate the trend in Biden’s favor.

We’ve so much more news than just primaries at the moment. But tonight there are primaries too. We will be bringing you live election results from every state and our staff live blog right here.

From TPM Reader AO …

Long-time reader in Seattle (via Boston). I think our local & state officials are doing a good job here. King County public health clearly has good people and the communication has been clear and on-point. I actually feel in good hands given the government, scientific & medical community’s expertise here. The Gates foundation’s home testing program should start next week & that will be a major step forward, but we are already so far behind, and we had such clear advanced warning & did nothing.

Continue reading “A Report from the Epicenter (Or One Epicenter)” →

The Bernie Sanders campaign sent out a notification a short time ago that it is canceling tonight’s election night rally over concerns about COVID-19.

Out of concern for public health and safety, we are canceling tonight’s rally in Cleveland. We are heeding the public warnings from Ohio state officials, who have communicated concern about holding large, indoor events during the coronavirus outbreak. Sen. Sanders would like to express his regret to the thousands of Ohioans who had planned to attend the event tonight.

All future Bernie 2020 events will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Late Update: The Biden event has also been canceled.

Exclusive new reporting from TPM on how the Trump administration’s slow-footed response to COVID-19 is hampering the public health efforts in Washington state (and presumably other states, too). Instead of clearing the way for a more robust state-level response, President Trump is calling Washington’s governor a “snake.”