Black Voters Deliver Decisive Victory for Biden in Mississippi

Former Vice President Joe Biden won the Mississippi primary on Tuesday, the latest in his string of victories in the Deep South, where black voters have turned out in big numbers to support his campaign.

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Sanders canceled a planned event in Mississippi last week, deciding instead that his time would be better spent in Michigan, the biggest delegate prize on Tuesday.

Biden’s victory in Mississippi is the latest evidence of his strength among black voters in the South.

The former vice president’s 25-point victory in late February in South Carolina, where more than half of the Democratic electorate is black, was a major turning point in the presidential nominating race.

Biden followed that up with sweeping victories across the South, where he ran up the score over Sanders in Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma and Tennessee, in large part due to his strong support among African Americans.

Exit polls found that about two-thirds of Democratic voters in Mississippi are black, the highest rate of any state to vote so far.

About 75 percent of voters said Biden best understands the concerns of people of color.

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