Joe Biden crushes Bernie Sanders in three more states to extend lead in Democratic race

Joe Biden is on track to become the Democratic presidential nominee as he won all three states which voted on Tuesday, piling pressure on Bernie Sanders to drop out of the race.

The former US vice president took Florida, Arizona and Illinois, extending his delegate lead over Mr Sanders and making the latter’s path to victory exceptionally narrow.

All three states were won so comfortably that they were called for Mr Biden shortly after polls closed. In Florida and Illinois he secured around 60 per cent of the vote.

Mr Biden has now won 19 states to Mr Sanders's seven. The clean sweep on Tuesday triggered fresh calls for Mr Sanders, the Vermont senator, to concede defeat and withdraw.

There were signs that Democrats trusted Mr Biden more than Mr Sanders to tackle coronavirus.

Exit polls showed two thirds of respondents picked Mr Biden when asked which candidate would best handle a major crisis.

Speaking from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Mr Biden adopted a somber tone in a speech focusing on the coronavirus outbreak, calling for togetherness and praising doctors on the front line.

But he also called the results "very good" and reached out to his opponent's supporters. “Let me say, especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Senator Sanders: I hear you. I know what is at stake. And I know what we have to do," Mr Biden said.

Mr Sanders gave a live broadcast early in the night where he focused almost exclusively on how to tackle the coronavirus and what he wanted included in the Senate stimulus package being debated.

He faced growing calls to quit the race, not just because the delegate maths means only a spectacular turnaround in fortunes will secure him the nomination but also because of the national emergency posed by the coronavirus.

Ohio was meant to be the fourth state voting for the Democratic nominee on Tuesday but the state’s governor cancelled just nine hours before polls opened because of the “health emergency”.

Five other states due to vote have already delayed their primaries. It remains unclear whether any more voting will happen this month.

There had been criticism of statewide leaders in Florida, Illinois and Arizona as they carried on with their votes despite Trump administration guidance discouraging gatherings of more than 10 people.

Anecdotes of long queues and photographs of dozens of people in enclosed polling stations circulated on Tuesday. So too did stories of election experts disinfecting electronic voting stations after each ballot was cast and ensuring people kept their distance.

“The election is over tonight, that is very clear,” David Axelrod, a senior strategist to Barack Obama during his two election victories, said on CNN, adding that Mr Sanders should consider withdrawing given Mr Biden looks set to win.

A familiar story emerged in Tuesday’s primary votes, with Mr Biden - whose campaign was on the brink of collapse after failing to win any of the first three states earlier this year - continuing to build on so-called “Joementum”.

Mr Biden won more than two thirds of votes cast by African-Americans in Florida and Illinois, according to exit polls, providing further proof of his vast support among that demographic - a central pillar of his primaries success.

He continued to do well with older voters but also had success among working class men, a group who Hillary Clinton, the last Democratic presidential nominee, struggled to connect with in 2016.

Mr Sanders, a 78-year-old democratic socialist, continued to do better with younger voters.

Mr Biden, 77, pivoted away from the primaries and towards a presidential clash with Donald Trump as he declined to criticise his opponent in his results night speech.

Instead he offered an olive branch to Sanders supporters whose votes he will need come the November presidential election if he is the nominee.

“Senator Sanders and I may disagree on tactics, but we share a common vision - for the need to provide affordable health care for all Americans, to reducing income inequality, to taking on climate change,” Mr Biden said.

“Senator Sanders and his supporters have brought remarkable passion and tenacity to these issues, and together, they have shifted the fundamental conversation in the country.”

He added: “Our goal as a campaign, and my goal as a candidate for president, is to unify our party - and to unify our nation.”

Mr Sanders used a 25-minute broadcast to focus on the tackling the coronavirus pandemic, saying: "If we work together, this is the richest country in the world we can address this crisis and minimise the pain.”

Tulsi Gabbard, the Hawaii congresswoman who is officially still in the race, failed to make a breakthrough in any of the three states.