There were supposed to be four primary elections tonight. One of the states involved, Ohio, postponed its primary due to the Covid-19 emergency. Of the states that voted, Illinois has the most complete votes at the current time. Illinois was also, according to one formula, one of the places that Bernie Sanders could have turned it around. He did not. With most of the vote counted, It is around a 60/40 split. Joe Biden added to his delegate lead in all three states. Joe Biden was already the presumptive nominee, one month after I wrote that the race was "Bernie Sanders and everyone else". There is some thought that the current state of crisis has only augmented Joe Biden's lead, that people are looking for someone with governmental experience and a "steady hand", but it is a moot point, since Biden was already well in the lead.
But here is an irony: Bernie Sanders has been battling the idea that his ideas are too extreme, that socialism would never fly in the general election. But among the many government actions planned in response to Covid-19 and its economic fallout, plans for large government interventions are being talked about seriously, and in fact, as inevitable. There is talk about a trillion dollar bailout that will, among other things, just send $1,000 to every adult in the country. Sanders positions were developed in a rational matter, but were dismissed out of hand. But in a crisis, it is revealed pretty quickly that social spending is something that people are not only okay with, but take as a natural course of action. Perhaps a candidate with Sanders' positions, but a less adversarial demeanor, would be able to explain that health care policy is a kitchen table issue that is meant to avoid things like the present crisis. But Sanders, despite having many dedicated supporters, could never elucidate his positions outside of his base.