If you’re a Democrat and you’re happy that Joe Biden has virtually locked up your party’s presidential nomination, you should be grateful for one very important thing: If the coronavirus had disrupted American life just a little sooner, Biden probably wouldn’t be in this position today.

The Democratic race would still be fractured among various candidates, with no one really emerging as a front-runner nor being eliminated because of low numbers. The difference between the top of the pack and the bottom wouldn’t have been much, like candidates polling in the 20-25% range and those in the 8-9% range. The lead dogs wouldn’t have sewn up anything, and the bottom-dwellers could claim they still had a chance to move up.

In fact, prior to Super Tuesday on March 3, that was pretty much the state of the Democratic presidential race. Yet after Biden’s big win in South Carolina, moderates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg withdrew along with billionaire Tom Steyer. That basically left Biden going up against socialist Bernie Sanders, who had already edged out Elizabeth Warren for the hard-left edge of the party.

With that focused choice, Biden won big on Super Tuesday, though by not quite enough to finish Sanders completely. Bernie is still in the race for now, and he will go into the convention with a lot of delegates. But there’s almost no mathematical chance that he can catch Biden. Barring some dramatic development, Biden is on a clear path to come out on top.

But let’s say that the coronavirus hit earlier, around the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary. Large rallies would be banned as they are now, and candidates would have had to campaign in print and broadcast news along with social media. They could still get their message out, but the whole process would seem distant and impersonal. They just couldn’t make that one-on-one impact on voters, particularly in a state like New Hampshire that values “retail politics.”

People would have also been less inclined to vote, and the low turnout could have disguised who was really surging or falling. The public’s focus would have been on avoiding and surviving the coronavirus, as it is now, not on which candidate had the best plan for Iran or student loan debt. The whole presidential campaign would have seemed frozen — on one side only. The Republicans have their nominee, and they’re behind him all the way. It is the Democrats who need to unite behind one candidate and move forward.

Could Biden have broken out in the chaos and confusion of coronavirus? Maybe, but unlikely. The multi-candidate muddle probably would have dragged on. The one candidate with the most passionate supporters — Bernie Sanders — could have racked up the most delegates, and the party would be doomed to defeat this fall.

Photo: Lora Olive, MBR / TNS

With Biden, Democrats at least have a chance. By a massive stroke of good fortune, he wrapped up this nomination just a few weeks before this medical crisis began. We’ll see if his luck holds in November.

Thomas Taschinger, TTaschinger@BeaumontEnterprise.com, is the editorial page editor of The Beaumont Enterprise. Follow him on Twitter at @PoliticalTom