Poll Shows Biden With Huge Florida Lead As Sanders Weighs Exit

After former Vice President Joe Biden claimed major primary victories this week, his opponent for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is struggling to stay in the race. As moderates line up behind Biden, polling shows him winning in several states that have to primary yet, including Florida where he has a massive lead.

According to a recent survey conducted by University of North Florida, Biden is far out in front of Sanders with a whopping 44-point lead in support. The Sunshine State will be voting in the primary March 17, alongside Arizona, Ohio and Illinois.

The Sanders campaign had pinned its hopes on the remaining states including Florida, which has 219 delegates up for the taking. With Sanders trailing Biden by 154 pledged delegates currently, the Vermont senator would need to have a strong showing in these upcoming primaries.

If this new poll is any indication, Biden may be poised to win a majority of the pledged delegates with big wins next week. Right now, he is sitting at 861 delegates (compared to Sanders’ 710); to claim the nomination outright, Biden will need to cross the 1,991-delegate threshold ahead of the Democratic National Convention in July.

If he fails to do so, it will come down to the superdelegates to choose the Democratic presidential candidate. If that is to be the case, it is likely most will vote for Biden – further narrowing Sanders’ current options.

Despite urging from some Democrats to drop out, Sanders stated Wednesday that he intends to remain in the race and still plans to attend a debate scheduled for Saturday in Arizona. A strong showing from Sanders there could help his campaign regain some much-needed momentum.

In that statement, Sanders also appeared to acknowledge that his campaign may be ending soon and indicated that he would push Biden to embrace some of the issues that are part of his progressive platform.

Sanders has struggled to cement support in southern states, where Democrats are largely non-white. Since entering the race, Biden has enjoyed overwhelming support from black voters, a fact that was underscored by his major victories in South Carolina and, more recently, Missouri and Mississippi.