USA: Second US state postpones presidential primaries

The spread of the corona virus is increasingly affecting the pre-November presidential election campaign.

• US Democrats are looking for Trump challengers
• Louisiana is the first US state to postpone Democratic primary due to coronavirus
  
• Joe Biden extends winning streak

Update, 03/15/2020, 08.50 a.m .: The presidential primaries in the USA are increasingly taking a back seat due to the coronavirus pandemic . Similar to sport, politicians can no longer meet their deadlines. After Louisiana, the US state of Georgia has now postponed the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries to a later date. The area code scheduled for March 24 is now scheduled for May 19, the Georgia government said on Saturday. The health of the election workers, their families and the entire population was "top priority for him," said executive government official Brad Raffensperger.

On March 24, both opposition Democrats and President Donald Trump's Republicans wanted to hold their primary in Georgia. However, after 66 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death, Governor Brian Kemp declared the health emergency on Saturday.

Coronavirus crisis: Louisiana is the first US state to run the presidential election

Update, 3/13/2020, 6:10 p.m .: Because of the coronavirus crisis, Louisiana is the first US state to postpone the presidential election of the opposition Democrats . The area code planned for early April will be postponed to June 20, a state representative said on Friday. An emergency was also declared in Louisiana because of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus.

JUST IN: Louisiana secretary of state requests postponing the state's upcoming presidential primary due to the coronavirus https://t.co/2z1CGrpuNg pic.twitter.com/sDVe4WOP88

Louisiana is the first state to postpone the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. Before the presidential candidates of the parties for the election in November are to be selected at major nomination party conferences in the summer, primary elections are planned in numerous states. They have already been held in 24 countries. Elections are scheduled for Tuesday in Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Ohio.

The number of people infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus is also increasing in the United States. According to the CDC health agency, the number of coronavirus cases is more than 1,600. More than 40 deaths have been recorded. There should be a high number of unreported cases because comparatively few tests have been carried out to date.

Update, March 11th, 2020, 1:45 pm: There is still reasonably positive news for Bernie Sanders . The 78-year-old is predicted to have won the area code in North Dakota . However, given the significant defeats in Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, and especially Mississippi, where Joe Biden alone received 81 percent of the vote, this is little consolation for Sanders. In the state of Washington, both are in a head-to-head race in which Sanders currently has a lead of 2084 votes. However, only 67% of the constituencies are counted.

Update, March 11, 2020, 7:20 am: US President Donald Trump declared himself victorious in all six primaries for his Republican presidential candidacy on Tuesday (local time). Trump thanked voters in Idaho, Washington, North Dakota, Michigan, Missouri and Mississippi for their support on Twitter. Unlike the Democrats, Trump's Republicans only hold pro forma primaries. Trump has no serious challenger internally and is set as his party's candidate for the November election. The Republicans have therefore completely canceled the primaries in several states.

Trump has won almost all of the delegate votes for the nomination party conference in August, which have so far been given in the Republican primary. In those states where Republican primaries were held, Trump typically won these votes with more than 90 percent of the vote.

Update, March 11, 2020, 6:30 am: US presidential candidate Joe Biden has continued his triumphal march in the Democratic primary. The former vice president was predicted to win in at least four out of six states on Tuesday: he won in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri against his left-wing rival Bernie Sanders and was able to expand his role as favorite. The 77-year-old middle politician promised a "comeback for the soul of this nation" on election evening. Results from the states of North Dakota and Washington were initially pending.

US area code: Biden calls Sanders to cooperate

Michigan, however, played the central role in this pre-election round anyway: 125 and, in particular, many of the party congress delegates were assigned there, who will nominate President Donald Trump's challenger in July. A total of over 352 of the 3979 delegates were decided. They are distributed in proportion to the election results of the applicants.

Biden called Sanders to work together on the evening of the election. “We have a common goal. Together we will defeat Donald Trump, ”said the 77-year-old in a speech. "We will bring this nation together." He thanks Sanders and his followers for their "tireless energy and passion".

Biden and Sander had previously canceled campaign appearances in the US state of Ohio. According to the Ministry of Health there, three people tested positive for the coronavirus pathogen Sars-CoV-2 , which can trigger the lung disease Covid-19 .

Update, March 5, 2020, 5:01 p.m .: US Senator Elizabeth Warren gets out of the Democratic presidential race. Several US media reports that the left-wing politician is throwing in the towel after her poor performance on the " Super Tuesday " super-election day. So far this has not been confirmed. However, it is generally expected that Warren will comment on her withdrawal shortly.

So far, Warren has not given a recommendation for her left-wing competitor Bernie Sanders. This turns the presidential candidacy into a duel between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, who is considered moderate. Tulsi Gabbard, who is also still in the race, is not given any chances.

Update, March 4, 2020, 4:18 pm: US billionaire Michael Bloomberg has stepped out of the race for the Democratic presidential candidacy according to information from his campaign staff. The former mayor of New York campaigned in Florida on Tuesday. Henceforth Bloomberg wants to support former Vice President Joe Biden. The most important thing was to defeat incumbent Donald Trump in the November presidential election, Bloomberg said.

He had invested more than half a billion dollars and had only won five out of a total of six delegate votes on Super Tuesday in the American Samoa area.

“Super Tuesday”: Joe Biden's brilliant success in the US primaries

Update, March 4, 2020, 1:15 p.m .: Not all votes have yet been counted in the US primaries. The result is nevertheless quite clear. Former Vice President Joe Biden won at least nine out of 14 states voting on Super Tuesday . For the state of Maine, there were initially no predictions about a winner on Wednesday night. There, after 73 percent of the counted constituencies, Biden was ahead of Bernie Sanders with almost 1700 votes.

Biden can rely on strong support from black voters and was able to achieve some brilliant successes in southern states on Tuesday. For example, according to preliminary results from the state election commission, it was in Alabama with more than 63 percent of the votes, Sanders there came to almost 17 percent. In Virginia, according to preliminary results from the local election commission, Biden was around 30 percentage points ahead of Sanders.

Nevertheless, Sanders was also confident. "Tonight, I tell you with absolute confidence that we will win the Democratic nomination and that we will beat the most dangerous president in the history of this country," said Sanders in Vermont.

Donald Trump has no serious competition within his party. The Republicans have therefore canceled their area codes in several states. On Tuesday, however, they held primaries in 13 of the 14 “Super Tuesday” countries. Trump declared himself the winner in all of these states.

Joe Biden makes a winning streak

Update, March 4th, 2020, 8:10 am: Joe Biden's triumphal march continues. Former Obama vice-president was also forecast to win the Texas primaries on Super Tuesday. The NBC and Fox News announced early Wednesday morning. So far, Joe Biden has won nine out of 14 states.

Update, March 4, 2020, 6:00 a.m .: Hardly anyone had expected this before. Former Vice President Joe Biden has had an unexpected winning streak in the Super Tuesday primary and now has good cards in the US Democratic presidential race. Biden won in the states of North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Massachusetts, according to forecasts by TV stations about the outcome of the initial eleven primaries.

So far, Senator Bernie Sanders, the leading TV broadcaster, predicts three victories: in his home state of Vermont, in Colorado and in Utah. Sanders should also be one step ahead in California. There Fox News went so far as to declare the 78-year-old a winner. The CNN and CBS stations reported more cautiously about a Sanders tour. Should his victory be confirmed, that would be an important success for Sanders. After all, California is about 415 delegate votes that will officially determine the party's presidential candidate at the Democratic nomination convention in July, significantly more than in the other 13 states that voted on Tuesday. Sanders has broad latin support in California.

The results were still open in Maine and the heavyweight Texas, in which Biden and Sanders had a head-to-head race. In both countries, however, the trend is towards Joe Biden.

Update, March 4, 2020, 5:20 a.m .: Bitter defeat for Elizabeth Warren in her home state of Massachusetts. The Senator has suffered a defeat in the US presidential race of the Democrats. Former US Vice President Joe Biden is forecast to have won in Massachusetts, as NBC and Fox News reported on Tuesday evening (local time) after the polling stations closed in the northeastern United States.

Slap for Michael Bloomberg

The former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg , has not had any major victories so far. According to initial forecasts from ten states, Bloomberg was unable to win a single state for itself in the Democrats' large pre-election marathon. Accordingly, he exceeded the threshold of 15 percent of the vote in several states to secure individual delegate votes for the nomination convention of the Democrats in the summer, at which the party chooses its presidential candidate. However, he did not make it to first place in any of the states.

Sanders in Colorado up front

The left senator Bernie Sanders can predict his second victory on "Super Tuesday". ABC, NBC and Fox News broadcasters saw the 78-year-old as a winner in the Colorado area code. Previously, TV channels had predicted Sanders victory in his home state of Vermont. Sanders wrote on Twitter: "Thank you, Colorado!"

Thank you Colorado! https://t.co/71XP5KU0E8

First registration:

Washington - “ Super Tuesday ” kicks off in the USA: The first polling stations opened on Tuesday morning at 6:00 am (local time / 12:00 noon CET) in the state of Virginia on the east coast of the USA. More than a dozen of the 50 U.S. states will vote on which candidate to challenge Republican incumbent Donald Trump in the November 3 presidential election.

"Super Tuesday": most important day for the Democrats

It is about the votes of more than a third of all delegates who ultimately determine the presidential candidate at the nomination party conference in the summer. So “Super Tuesday” is the most important day in the race for the Democratic candidacy.

The left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders is leading the Democrats after four primaries so far. The 78-year-old is also the leader in national surveys. Former Vice President Joe Biden got a huge boost shortly before "Super Tuesday": Eliminated applicants Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke called on their supporters to support the candidacy of the 77-year-old.

I do not believe we will defeat Donald Trump with a candidate like Joe Biden who supports the Iraq War. pic.twitter.com/8tII7O3Mal

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced his withdrawal from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sunday. Senator Klobuchar followed on Monday. Former Congressman O'Rourke had already dropped out in November. O'Rourke's recommendation still has weight in the important “Super Tuesday” state of Texas: he comes from Texas and represented the state in Congress.

The declarations of support for Joe Biden * are intended to prevent the split moderate camp and a nomination of the left candidate Sanders. The most important competitor Bidens from the moderate warehouse is only now entering the race: the multi-billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is on the “Super Tuesday” for the first time on the ballot papers.

Where to vote on “Super Tuesday”?

In the following 14 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Voting is also taking place in the US outside of Samoa, and Democrats abroad are also starting their vote, which will run until March 10.

The Democratic candidate field

• Joe Biden, former U.S. Vice President (won 54 delegate votes so far)
• Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York (0 votes so far)
• Tulsi Gabbard, Congressman from Hawaii (0 votes)
• Bernie Sanders, Vermont Senator (60 votes)
• Elizabeth Warren *, Massachusetts Senator (8 votes)

And what about the Republicans on “Super Tuesday”?

The Republican candidate has basically been known for a long time; US President Donald Trump announced his candidacy on the day he took office in 2017. Later he added his new campaign slogan: "Keep America Great", roughly in German: Ensures that America remains great. Trump was drawn to the 2016 election with the slogan "Make America Great Again". Trump called this the best campaign slogan in history.

Trump's renewed candidacy does not mean, however, that he cannot be challenged by the Republican side. There are actually opposing candidates, namely:

• Roque de la Fuente, California businessman
• Joe Walsh, former Illinois congressman
• Bill Weld, former Massachusetts governor

All three of them have no chance. Nevertheless, Weld has managed to win a single vote in the previous primaries. Trump should also be able to walk through on “Super Tuesday”.

(cs / skr with agencies)

* fr.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editors network

List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa / Rogelio V. Solis