Joe Biden projected to win Texas primary in another stunning upset


Former Vice President Joe Biden won an upset victory in the Texas Democratic primary on Tuesday, The Associated Press, NBC News, and other networks project, adding to a dominant Super Tuesday for a candidate who had never won a primary before last weekend in his three runs for president. Texas, with 228 delegates, is Super Tuesday's second biggest prize, after California. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who led in early voting in Texas and was ahead in pre-election polls, is projected to win California and three other states. Biden won nine.
It was a close race in Texas, and not only are votes still being counted, but they were still being cast hours after the polls closed Tuesday night due to long lines. "Nearly half of voters who picked their candidate in the last few days supported Biden," CNN notes, while "only 1 in 5 of the late deciders, just under a quarter of the Democratic electorate, chose Sen. Bernie Sanders." Biden held his closing rally in Dallas on Monday night, during which he was endorsed by three former rivals: Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Texas).
For Biden, "night went basically as well for him as it conceivably could have," Geoffrey Skelley writes at FiveThirtyEight. "Everything came together, from the withdrawals and endorsements by Buttigieg and Klobuchar, to the surge of late-deciding voters backing his candidacy in a diverse set of states, giving him a broader coalition. The race is probably far from over, but Biden may now be the favorite."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It remains to be seen how the 228 Texas delegates will be apportioned, but Biden and Sanders will likely have to share them with former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is currently polling at above 15 percent.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Exploring Georgia's southern highlands
The Week Recommends Visit Javakheti, Georgia's 'lake district', and meet the last-remaining 'spirit wrestlers' in the region
-
Delivery drivers face continuing heat danger with Trump's OSHA pick
The Explainer David Keeling is the former head of UPS and also worked at Amazon
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?
Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible