Biden defeats Sanders in Washington primary

Former Vice President Joe Biden beat Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in last week’s Washington state primary, multiple news outlets reported Monday.

Biden took a state that Sanders won in 2016, when it held caucuses. The state will award 89 pledged delegates.

With 99 percent of the vote in, Biden led Sanders 37.9 percent to 36.4 percent, NBC News reported.

Washington was the last of the six states that voted Tuesday to report a winner. Biden had already been declared the victor in Michigan, Idaho, Mississippi and Missouri, while Sanders had taken North Dakota.

The former vice president is growing his delegate lead in the Democratic primary as the establishment wing of the party rallies behind his bid. An NBC tally put his margin Monday at more than 150 delegates.

Four states — Ohio, Florida, Illinois and Arizona — are set to hold their primaries Tuesday, and Biden is polling ahead in all of them.

The Vermont senator has vowed to remain in the race, seeking to drag Biden further to the left on policy issues.

The timing of forthcoming primaries is in question over the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, with state officials across the country banning large public gatherings even as voters are set to head to the polls.

Louisiana and Georgia have already moved to postpone their primaries as officials seek to manage the outbreak.

John Bowden contributed.