Plenty of race left to run

After casting their ballots, Californians can still impact primary race

Eric Boose / Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

The stage at the Democratic primary debate in Arizona will look much emptier than the one only two weeks ago in South Carolina. Instead of seven candidates, there will be only two in front of the moderators on Sunday — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden. They are the last two Democratic candidates with a shot at the nomination, the last two serious contenders standing. While Tulsi Gabbard is technically still in the race, she has won only two delegates, compared to Sanders and Biden’s totals, which both clear 600 with ease.

Even with only two real contenders left standing, the race is far from over. The majority of delegates available in the primary election are dished out after Super Tuesday, with 37 states and territories holding elections or caucuses after the busiest day of the primaries. Although California has held its primary, Californians can and should still make an impact in the primary race. There is no doubt that the 2020 presidential election will be a crucial point for our country’s future, but before that, the 2020 Democratic primary will be a crucial point for the party’s future.

The two remaining candidates represent two different visions for the Democratic party. Biden, already endorsed by Klobuchar, Bloomberg, and Buttigeig, represents the moderate, centrist, or establishment wing of the party — those who want a president to reunify a divided country through a modest, statesman-like approach which looks to build on the successes of the Obama administration. Sanders, on the other hand, champions the progressive wing of the party, calling for a political revolution, seeking to massively overhaul the way government serves its citizens. 

As Super Tuesday came and went, Sanders and Biden’s fellow contenders bowed out, leaving the dichotomy now presented to Democratic voters. Billionaire investor Tom Steyer had more or less picked up where Washington Governor Jay Inslee left off in running a climate-focused campaign, so his departure following the South Carolina primary almost certainly returned climate change to its status on the back burner during this election. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigeig and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar both dropped out before Super Tuesday, placing the moderates’ banner firmly in Biden’s hands. 

That left four of the seven candidates who debated in South Carolina in the race on Super Tuesday — Biden, Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and billionaire and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Biden won big, claiming the majority of available delegates, thanks to wins in 10 of the 13 states participating in Super Tuesday. Sanders won the other three states.

While Bloomberg did win one Super Tuesday race, in the territory of American Samoa, he dropped out the next day, having spent around $500 million to earn only 61 delegates. Following a disappointing Super Tuesday which saw her come third in her home state, Warren departed the race, leaving Sanders as the lone progressive. As of March 10, Warren has not endorsed a candidate. 

As former candidates and party elites have begun lining up behind their preferred candidate, it is time for particularly impassioned supporters who have already cast their ballots to do the same. Thanks to cell phones and social media, Biden and Sanders supporters in California can help the campaign in states which are yet to hold their primaries. That campaigning can be as simple as calling an undecided friend or family member voting in another state, or it can be something as full-fledged as volunteering for either campaign, reaching out to  potential voters on behalf of a candidate in the lead-up to an election or caucus. 

Political action and participation in American democracy has long extended beyond the ballot box. It has just been a matter of who is willing to go the distance to take that action and further participate. This election, like all elections, is an opportunity to make your voice heard by doing more than just voting, by being part of a campaign. Both Biden and Sanders are going to be in this race until one is the Democratic nominee for President, and if you love either one of them, or either one of their platforms, you have every right and opportunity to run this race with them, right up to the end.