Pollster declares Democratic race 'pretty much over' after Joe Biden jumps to jaw-dropping lead in Florida


Former Vice President Joe Biden may have just secured his nomination.
When several more states vote and provide clarity in the 2020 Democratic primary race on March 17, Florida, the home of the fourth biggest chunk of delegates in the 2020 Democratic primary race, will be among them. And according to a St. Pete Polls survey of likely Florida Democratic primary voters out Thursday, Biden will likely dominate the state with 61 percent support to Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 13.
Biden's backing is a dramatic increase from the 34 percent he received in late February, and seems to draw directly from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other moderate candidates' supporters. Sanders' support in Florida has meanwhile remained relatively flat throughout the race, the poll shows.
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.
Biden will likely only build on this lead seeing as Bloomberg, who got 14 percent of the vote , dropped out Wednesday and endorsed the former vice president. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) got a small five percent support before dropping out Thursday, leaving only a tiny improvement for Sanders even if all of her voters went to him.
It all prompted Dave Wasserman, the U.S. House editor at Cook Political Report, to tweet that this means "barring a seismic event, this race is pretty much over" and presumably going in Biden's favor.
St. Pete Polls surveyed 1,882 likely Florida Democratic primary voters on March 4 via phone, with a 2.3 percent margin of error.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Critics' choice: 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
How will Trump's spending bill impact student loans?
the explainer Here's what the Republicans' domestic policy bill means for current and former students
-
Can the US economy survive Trump's copper tariffs?
Today's Big Question The price hike 'could upend' the costs of cars, houses and appliances
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters