Joseph R. Biden skated to easy victories Tuesday in Democratic presidential primaries in Missouri and Mississippi, adding to his delegate lead over Sen. Bernard Sanders.
The outcomes, projected by the Associated Press as soon as the polls closed, extended Mr. Biden’s winning streak across the South and Midwest, where his strong support among black voters fueled his campaign.
Mr. Biden’s advantage in the race also mounted as the party establishment coalesced behind him as the more-moderate favorite over Mr. Sanders, an avowed socialist who many Democrats worry is too radical and destined to lose as the nominee against President Trump in November.
Mr. Sanders enjoyed frontrunner status in the race until Mr. Biden rocketed passed him in the Super Tuesday primaries last week. Mr. Biden won 10 of the 14 states voting that day and bypassed Ms. Sanders in the delegate count.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton narrowly edged out Mr. Sanders in the Missouri primary by less than a 1% margin.
This time, Missouri was among six states going to the polls record their pick for a Democratic nominee.
A total of 352 delegates were at stake Tuesday in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington.
The biggest prize is Michigan with 125 delegates. Missouri had 68 delegates on the table.
Mr. Biden entered Tuesday with a 670 to 574 lead over Mr. Sanders in the race for the 1,991 delegates needed to win the nomination outright.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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