REGIONAL—Former Vice President Joe Biden was the big winner in Tuesday’s presidential balloting across the North Country.
Biden, who defied expectations and the latest polling, easily won Minnesota and the largest share of the state’s 75 delegates to the Democratic national convention set to be held in Milwaukee in July.
President Donald Trump, who was not contested on the GOP side, easily won as well.
Biden garnered 38.6 percent of the vote statewide, to 29.9 percent for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren finished a distant third, with 15.4 percent. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar had bowed out of the race this past weekend, throwing her support to Biden.
Biden found backing from across the state, winning every one of Minnesota’s congressional districts, except for the Fifth District in Minneapolis. He drew 42.11 percent of the vote in the Eighth District in northeastern Minnesota, to 26.18 percent for Sanders. In the 2016 presidential race, Sanders had easily outpaced former Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Eighth District
Biden won most precincts in northern St. Louis and Lake counties, with varying margins. Biden won Tower, with 28 votes to Sanders’ 21, as well as Cook 57-16, and Orr 9-0. Biden also won big in Babbitt, with 78 votes to just 35 for Sanders. Biden also carried all but a handful of area townships, including Greenwood, where Biden won 79 votes to 41 for Sanders, and Morse, where Biden outpaced Sanders 106-52.
But Sanders did have some bright spots, such as Ely, where he won 199 votes to Biden’s 182, along with a handful of small townships.
Turnout was relatively low by Minnesota standards, with approximately 26 percent of registered voters casting ballots in the contest.