Mar 10, 2020 - Politics & Policy

March 10 Democratic primaries: What you need to know

Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

A total of 352 delegates in six states are up for grabs in today's Democratic Party primaries.

Why it matters: It's the first time voters cast ballots since Super Tuesday, which crystallized the contest as a one-on-one race between Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is still competing but has far fewer delegates than her opponents.

  • Polls close at 8 p.m. ET in
    • Michigan, which has 125 delegates.
    • Mississippi, which has 36 delegates.
    • Missouri, which has 68 delegates.
  • Polls will close at 10 p.m. ET
    • Idaho, which has 20 delegates.
    • North Dakota, which has 14 delegates.
  • Polls will close at 11 p.m. ET
    • Washington, which has 89 delegates.

The delegate count so far:

  • Biden: 664 delegates
  • Sanders: 573 delegates
  • Gabbard: 2 delegates

The state of play: Biden is the favorite to win across the board, per FiveThirtyEight's forecast, but several of the races are still tight.

  • FiveThirtyEight predicts Biden will get 3% more votes than Sanders in both of Idaho's congressional districts.
  • The site's polling average has Biden leading Sanders 36.9% to 35.6% in a toss-up in Washington. Voters in Washington are mailing in their ballots.
  • Biden is the slight favorite in North Dakota, per FiveThirtyEight. Forecasters gave him a 63% chance of winning the state to Sanders' 37%.
  • Forecasters expect Biden to take both Mississippi and Missouri.

Of note: Sanders is the clear underdog in polls in Michigan. But the Vermont senator can't be counted out in the state where he pulled off a stunning upset against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

  • "We are going in there with the expectation and hope we will win," Sanders told reporters at a press conference last week.

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