Biden says Sanders would have 'great trouble' helping Democrats keep House, win Senate

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would have “great trouble” helping Democrats retain the House and win the Senate if he is the party's is the nominee.

“You’re convinced that the Democrats will lose big in November if Bernie Sanders is the nominee?” host George Stephanopoulos asked Biden on ABC's "This Week."

“I think he’ll have great trouble bringing along other senators, keeping the House of Representatives, winning back the Senate and down-ballot initiatives,” Biden said.
The former vice president also said voters face a "stark choice" between himself and Sanders.

“It’s not about whether we restore the soul of the Democratic Party,” Biden said. “It’s about restore the soul, uniting this country, the whole country, and I think I can do that.”



https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/485344-biden-says-sanders-would-have-great-trouble-keeping-house-winning

Biden said he would contest nomination even if Sanders leads in delegates

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he would contest the presidential primary nomination at the Democratic convention if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is leading in delegates without securing a majority.

“The rules have been set,” Biden said on CNN’s “State of the Union.

Biden questioned Sanders’ take that the candidate with a plurality of pledged delegates the convention should become the nominee.
“I wonder where that view was when he was challenging Hillary when she went in with a commanding lead,” Biden added. “You don't change the rules in the middle of the game.”

Sanders is the only candidate in the field this year to insist that the candidate with the most pledged delegates should be the party nominee. He held the opposing view in 2016 when facing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/485345-biden-said-he-would-contest-nomination-even-if-sanders-leads-in-delegates

Biden says Sanders would lose to Trump

Former Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday that President Trump would beat Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a general election.

Asked by NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press" if Sanders would lose to the Republican incumbent in the fall, Biden said, "I do."

“I think Bernie Sanders’s positions on a number of issues, even in the Democratic Party, are very controversial," Biden said, noting the hefty price tag of the senator's signature "Medicare for All" proposal.

“Everybody’s going to look at Bernie’s record as closely as they’ve looked at mine over the last five months, and I think they’re going to see some stark differences in where we stand.”

Biden's comments followed his win in Saturday's South Carolina primary. Sanders is still leading the 2020 Democratic presidential field after the first four voting states.



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/485354-biden-says-sanders-would-lose-to-trump

Biden steps up attacks on Sanders as Super Tuesday approaches

Former Vice President Joe Biden followed up his resounding victory in the South Carolina presidential primary by taking aim at Democratic frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sunday morning, describing the self-proclaimed democratic socialist as an electoral liability.

Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Biden said Sanders would lose in a general election matchup with Trump.

“I think Bernie Sanders’s positions on a number of issues, even in the Democratic Party, are very controversial," Biden said.

“Everybody’s going to look at Bernie’s record as closely as they’ve looked at mine over the last five months, and I think they’re going to see some stark differences in where we stand,” he added.

Sanders leads Trump in head-to-head matchups in most polling, both nationally and in battleground states.

In a separate appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Biden argued Democrats would run the risk of losing their House majority in the event of a Sanders nomination.

“I think he’ll have great trouble bringing along other senators, keeping the House of Representatives, winning back the Senate and down-ballot initiatives,” Biden said, adding that the choice between the two is “not about whether we restore the soul of the Democratic Party… it’s about restoring the soul, uniting this country, the whole country, and I think I can do that.”


https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/485365-biden-steps-up-attacks-on-sanders-as-super-tuesday-approaches

The Democratic Trifecta Opportunities in 2020

The hardest state for Republicans this year in this fight is in the state of Minnesota. Democrats need just a net gain of two seats in the Republican-controlled State Senate while holding onto their majority in the state’s House of Representatives (which they’re heavily favored in) to create a Democratic trifecta. At the moment, they’re slightly favored to succeed since they are well-positioned in two crucial Republican-held State Senate seats, one in the Twin Cities suburbs and another in St. Cloud (which will be the majority-maker). However, they still need to defend a difficult district they narrowly flipped in 2016. This district in Dakota County, just south of the Twin Cities, not only voted for Trump in 2016, but also the Republican candidate for Governor in 2018, Jeff Johnson, even while Tim Walz (D) was winning the election by double digits. In all other districts Democrats hold in the upper chamber, they are either moderately favored, heavily favored, or certain to win.

Vermont, though bluer than Minnesota in presidential elections, is actually a slightly harder target for Democrats in trifecta opportunities this year. Though Vermont Democrats are certain to hold both of the state legislative chambers they’ve controlled for a decade and a half, the state has a popular incumbent Republican governor who won re-election by double digits in 2018. Governor Phil Scott, a moderate Republican who often criticizes Trump, is only a slight favorite in his re-election bid this year this time around, because this time he’s actually facing fierce competition: his own Lieutenant Governor, David Zuckerman (D). Zuckerman won his first statewide election in 2016 for the office that then-Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott was vacating so that he could run for Governor. While Scott was winning by 8.74 points, Zuckerman was winning by 6.65. In their reelection bids in 2018, Zuckerman beat Scott’s performance: Zuckerman won re-election by 18.47 points while Scott won by 14.93 points. The gubernatorial election this year will be highly competitive, and if Democrats win, they’ll have a Democratic trifecta in the state again.

Another Bradyland trifecta opportunity for Democrats is New Hampshire. While Democrats flipped both state legislatures in New Hampshire in 2018, with a landslide win in the House of Representatives and a sizable win in the State Senate, Governor Chris Sununu (R) won re-election by 7.1 points. This is an improvement from his first win in 2016, which was by 2.2 points. Sununu, whose family has been dominant in New Hampshire politics for decades, will have a competitive election this year against either the majority leader of the State Senate or a member of the Executive Council, but remains moderately favored nevertheless given his popularity. A smaller hurdle that Democrats also face in their quest to create a trifecta in the Granite State is holding onto the state legislative chambers. Currently, the House of Representatives is rated as Likely D and the State Senate is rated as Lean D.

Democrats’ chances of creating a trifecta improved in North Carolina last year after the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that its legislative districts needed to be redrawn due to Republican gerrymandering. The crucial swing state is a top priority this year for Democrats, with competitive statewide elections, state legislatures and two US House seats which swung heavily leftward in recent redistricting (also mandated by the North Carolina Supreme Court because of Republican gerrymandering). Despite the improvement in Democrats’ chances in the battle for the state legislatures though, Republicans remain favored in both chambers, with each being rated as Lean R. Even if Democrats somehow manage to flip the state legislatures, they will need Governor Roy Cooper (D) to win reelection against Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest (R). This is an easier task for Democrats, as the gubernatorial race is rated as Lean D. Given the difference in ratings in the state legislatures and the gubernatorial race, it’s likely that North Carolina will remain a divided state government after this year’s elections.

Pennsylvania Democrats had tremendous victories in the midterms. They flipped 4 US House seats, won the gubernatorial and senatorial elections in landslides, earned a net gain of 12 seats in the state’s House of Representatives and a net gain of 5 seats in the State Senate. The gains the state party made were still not good enough to make them a very good trifecta opportunity this year though. Democrats came up short in 2018 in two critical State Senate seats in southeastern Pennsylvania which would have made their path forward to a trifecta far easier than it is now. In addition to their woes in the State Senate, State Senator John Yudichak switched his party affiliation last year from Democrat to Independent, caucusing with the State Senate Republicans. This party switch has ruled out any chance for Democrats to create an outright majority in the upper chamber, but if they have a net gain of 4 seats, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman (D) will act as a tiebreaker. Democrat headaches aren’t limited to just the upper chamber however: they are currently projected to lose two Trump-loving rural districts in the House of Representatives and left a district in the Philadelphia suburbs that voted for Hillary Clinton uncontested. Democrats need to have a net gain of 9 seats (perhaps 8, depending on an upcoming special election in the Philadelphia suburbs) in the lower chamber to have a majority. So yes, there’s a chance that Democrats can create a trifecta in Pennsylvania, but it’s as small as a gnat’s eyebrow given the math.



https://www.cnalysiscom.website/articles/the-democratic-trifecta-opportunities-in-2020

Winning South Carolina, Biden Makes Case Against Sanders: 'Win Big or Lose'

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joseph R. Biden Jr. scored a decisive victory in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, reviving his listing campaign and establishing himself as the leading contender to slow Senator Bernie Sanders as the turbulent Democratic race turns to a slew of coast-to-coast contests on Tuesday.

Propelled by an outpouring of support from South Carolina’s African-American voters, Mr. Biden easily overcame a late effort by Mr. Sanders to stage an upset. The victory in a state long seen as his firewall will vault Mr. Biden into Super Tuesday, where polls open in just over 48 hours, as the clear alternative to Mr. Sanders for establishment-aligned Democrats.

Mr. Biden, the former vice president, captured just under 50 percent of the vote, well ahead of Mr. Sanders, who had 20 percent. Tom Steyer, the California billionaire, was a distant third, followed by Pete Buttigieg and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The victory enabled Mr. Biden to significantly narrow Mr. Sanders’s pledged delegate lead, but he did not appear poised to overtake him.

Mr. Biden, in an exuberant victory speech on Saturday night, looked ahead to a long, ideological struggle and made repeated arguments against Mr. Sanders, though not by name.

He said voters faced a momentous choice in the coming days. Democrats, Mr. Biden argued, wanted results rather than revolution, improvements to the Affordable Care Act rather than a disruptive transformation of the health care system, and a candidate who would “take on the N.R.A. and gun manufacturers and not protect them.”

“If Democrats want a nominee who’s a Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, a proud Democrat, an Obama-Biden Democrat, join us,” Mr. Biden said, adding, “We have the option of winning big or losing big. That’s the choice.”



https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/us/politics/joe-biden-south-carolina-primary.html

South Carolina blows up the 2020 primary

The result was so lopsided that South Carolina was called the minute polls closed. For the first time in weeks, the presidential primary once again looked like a race.

Not only had Joe Biden resurrected his campaign and put a dent in Bernie Sanders‘ juggernaut, the poor performance of Biden’s centrist rivals prompted new calls for their withdrawal. One opponent, billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, dropped out.

Saturday’s results laid bare the inability of several lower-performing candidates to appeal widely to black voters — a critical component not only of the South Carolina electorate but of the Democratic Party’s broader base, and a potential sign of trouble to come on Super Tuesday. Those candidates now must confront the possibility of their fundraising drying up.

If there was a best case scenario for Biden, this was it. And as a result, the primary has been reset.

“Americans know Joe Biden, and a lot of them are coming home,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was at the airport in Dallas on Saturday night after campaigning for Biden in that Super Tuesday state.

For other candidates, he predicted that after the South Carolina result, “I think there will be some soul searching.”

In one sign of Biden’s sudden momentum, Terry McAuliffe, the former Virginia governor and former Democratic National Committee chair, and Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, both endorsed Biden ahead of the Super Tuesday contest in that state. And Sen. Tim Kaine, another recent addition to the Biden camp, was preparing to campaign with Biden in Norfolk on Sunday.




https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/29/south-carolina-2020-primary-joe-biden-118375

Nate Silver's Super Tuesday win probabilities (Margins not accounted for)

PA-HD18: Dems and GOP Fully Commit to Bellwether Bucks Battle

BENSALEM- The first big race of 2020 is taking shape in lower Bucks County and both parties are going all in to win it.

In just over two weeks, voters in the 18th state House District will head to the polls to elect a new state representative after longtime state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) retired from the House after securing a seat on the Bucks County Board of Commissioners.

Although three special elections are set to take place on March 17, the race between Republican K.C. Tomlinson, a third generation Funeral Director and daughter of state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks), and Howie Hayes, a union plumber, in the 18th District is set to be the first real test in a key battleground in 2020 and both sides are stressing the need to win the seat.

“This race is so critical for this county.” said Bucks County Republican Party Chair Pat Poprik at a rally for Tomlinson on Saturday morning. “We need to win this more than anything. We have to send a message out that we are fielding great candidates, the best candidates, and that people recognize that and are voting for our team.”

Bucks County Democratic Party Chairman John Cordisco, a former state House member, echoed these calls to his party on Saturday afternoon at a rally for Hayes.

“This is a call to arms,” Cordisco said. “This is not just Bensalem, this is the Bucks County Democratic fight and all of us have a duty and a responsibility to engage in that fight.”



https://www.politicspa.com/dems-and-gop-fully-commit-to-bellwether-bucks-battle/93778/

Sanders Looks to Topple Warren in Her Home State

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Bernie Sanders landed in Elizabeth Warren’s home state on Friday night, stood before thousands of screaming fans and asked them to help him win it.

As Ms. Warren was campaigning hundreds of miles away in South Carolina, where voting in the state’s primary began Saturday morning, Mr. Sanders had departed for parts north, hoping to extinguish her candidacy — or at least deliver a stinging embarrassment.

With the race entering a critical phase, Mr. Sanders is looking ahead to big states like California and Texas to amass an insurmountable delegate lead next Tuesday, while also setting his sights on less glossy, but still delegate-rich states including Virginia and North Carolina.

Yet a victory in Massachusetts, where Ms. Warren was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2018, would not only give Mr. Sanders, the senator from neighboring Vermont, a significant share of the state’s 91 delegates but also inflict a symbolic blow to his closest ideological rival, as he pushes to categorically establish himself as the standard-bearer of the liberal left.




https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/us/politics/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-massachusetts-.html