Biden takes lead from Sanders in Washington with King County vote totals

Then-Vice President Joe Biden, right, chums it up with RTC recent graduate Sean Journot, left, during the VP's tour of the Renton Technical College in 2014. Biden has taken the lead over Bernie Sanders in Washington's 2020 Democratic presidential primary. less Then-Vice President Joe Biden, right, chums it up with RTC recent graduate Sean Journot, left, during the VP's tour of the Renton Technical College in 2014. Biden has taken the lead over Bernie Sanders in ... more Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Biden takes lead from Sanders in Washington with King County vote totals 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

New returns from populous King County pushed ex-Vice President Joe Biden into the lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders in Washington's Democratic presidential primary, the one unresolved contest from six states that voted on Tuesday.

The Biden lead grew as other counties reported on Wednesday. Biden had 35.01 percent and 408,083 votes, to 33.62 percent and 391,880 votes for Sanders, who was narrowly ahead on Tuesday night. Spokane, Pierce, Snohomish, Whatcom, Jefferson and Mason Counties updated their vote totals on Wednesday. Biden took the lead from Sanders in King and Jefferson Counties, while Bernie nosed in front in Spokane County.

Sanders has long been assumed the frontrunner in the Evergreen State, having overwhelmed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 precinct caucuses and boasting of an organization chaired by early supporter U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. Sanders drew 17,056 supporters to a raucous Tacoma Dome rally last month. Biden appeared only at closed-door fundraisers.

Still, Biden came out of nowhere, with no real organization. He spent little more than $11,000 in the state. Sanders spent nearly $700,000. But moderate and moderate-left Democrats coalesced around his candidacy, particularly after Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and ex-New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg quit the race. Blumberg poured millions into the Washington primary.

If his lead holds up -- it stands at just over 16,000 at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday -- Biden would come away from the March 10 primaries with five victories in six states. He won in Michigan and Idaho, states carried by Sanders in 2016, swept Mississippi with 80 percent of the vote, and won going away in Missouri, site of a close Sanders-Clinton contest in 2016.

The popular vote lead entitles Biden to bragging rights. The 89-member Washington delegation to the Democratic National Convention will be split between Biden and Sanders under party rules of proportional representations.

Washington and Idaho switched from caucuses to a primary election in 2020. Sanders swept the 2016 Washington caucuses with 73% of the vote. The caucuses drew 230,000 Democrats. A total of 1,165,630 votes have already been counted in the Democrats' primary this year.

Sanders, speaking from his home state of Vermont, said earlier Wednesday that he intends to remain in the race, and looks forward to debating Biden on Sunday. Upcoming big state primaries, notably in Illinois, Ohio and Florida, are considered Biden territory.

A candidacy considered dead two weeks ago, Biden rose to victory in the South Carolina primary, and then won 10 of 14 contests on Super Tuesday. In May 10 voting, Sanders' lone victory has been in North Dakota's caucuses.