First, we hope this finds you and your family safe and healthy. As Joe Biden said tonight: “When we see the best in each of us, we lift this nation up, and we’ll get through this together. That’s how we’ve always done it.”
Tonight’s overwhelming victories in Arizona, Illinois, and Florida are likely to add at least 150 delegates to Joe Biden’s already commanding delegate lead. Even without Ohio voting, Joe Biden effectively ended the race tonight. He will be the Democratic nominee, and for Unite the Country, the focus now turns to November.
The turnout generated by the Vice President continues to surprise everyone. Despite the virus, total turnout in Arizona and Florida exceeded 2016 numbers, and just like in previous states, we saw particularly robust turnout in the types of suburban communities where we need to show strength this fall.
In Florida alone tonight, Joe Biden won every single county, marking the sixth state where he’s accomplished this. In fact, across the nine southern states that have voted, Biden has only lost ten counties. And in both Arizona and Florida, Biden made significant gains with Latino voters, carrying strong majorities from the Puerto Rican and Cuban communities in Florida, and split the Latino vote in Arizona. Just like on Super Tuesday and March 10th, we saw the type of broad coalition that has defined the Biden support base since he got in the race. We are proud that we invested in all three states, knowing that if we could help drive up the delegate numbers, we could help the Vice President build an insurmountable lead.
Now as the election cycle, much like the country, enters a time of great uncertainty. Several states have postponed their primaries, and even more are considering it. How this process moves forward is still an open question – though what isn’t an open question: Joe Biden will secure a majority of delegates.
For us, the next phase has already begun. We have started a research project to better understand the mindset of the specific types voters who will decide this election. We are also making plans to make early significant investments in battleground states. We started this organization to be the outside voice for Joe Biden, and we plan to see that work through to Election Day.
We are staffing up, and we will be making some announcements in the coming weeks about new additions to our team. And because we believe that we are stronger when we work together across the Democratic coalition, we have begun conversations with a number of like-minded organizations who are working with the same common goal: electing Joe Biden as President, preserving a Democratic House, and delivering a Democratic Senate.
For Joe Biden, and for America, tonight was a good night – but the hard work for both begins in earnest now. In the course of our lifetimes, our country has never needed clear leadership like she does today – and because of the trust you have put in him – and in Unite the Country, we can now begin the hard work of helping Joe Biden define a new direction for America, and defeat Donald Trump in November.
Thank you again for everything, and please, please, stay safe and healthy.