The groundswell for former Vice President Joe Biden that started in South Carolina on Saturday swept over Arkansas on Tuesday, enabling him to claim 40.6% of the vote in the state's Democratic presidential primary, according to unofficial returns from the Arkansas Secretary of State.
Even without success in South Carolina, Biden might have managed to carry Arkansas on Super Tuesday. But South Carolina, and the events that followed, provided the Delaware politician with a surge that left all of his competitors behind.
"It was incredible momentum. I've never really seen anything like it," said Jay Barth, a professor emeritus of political science at Hendrix College.
Democratic turnout climbed from 221,020 in 2016 to 228,351 this year, according to unofficial results.
[RELATED » Full coverage of elections in Arkansas » arkansasonline.com/elections/]
Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Michael John Gray called Tuesday's vote "a good sign for Democrats."
"I think Biden is a candidate that they can get excited about," he said.
If early voting is any indication, a blowout was far from inevitable.
When early-polling places closed Monday evening, Biden was leading in 63 of the state's 75 counties.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont had jumped ahead in Northwest Arkansas, leading in Washington, Benton, Carroll and Newton counties. He was also narrowly ahead in Polk County, along the Oklahoma border.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was ahead in early voting in Clay, Franklin, Greene, Logan, Perry, Poinsett and Randolph counties.
Things were uncertain, as well, in Central Arkansas.
In Pulaski County, Biden led with 5,133 of the early votes. But Bloomberg, with 4,045 votes, and Sanders, with 3,432 votes, appeared within striking distance.
By election day, the state's largest county would no longer be competitive.
With the withdrawal of former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, their supporters began searching for a replacement.
Many of them, at Buttigieg's and Klobuchar's urging, opted for Biden.
Former U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder of Little Rock, who had endorsed Klobuchar, said he ultimately cast his ballot for Biden.
"I really like Amy. I think she would've been an excellent president," he said.
Biden, Snyder said, is also capable of winning and governing.
"He is a known quantity that works on the problems facing the American people, and he does it without embarrassing us," Snyder said.
The former vice president, backed by 28.5% of early voters in Pulaski County, received 52.6% of the votes cast there Tuesday, winding up with 44.7% overall.
"It was a huge, huge swing. It was just a monster swing," Barth said.
Biden also carried Benton County with 31.7% on election day. Sanders, who had led there until Tuesday, finished with 28.8%.
Biden ultimately prevailed in 74 of the state's 75 counties.
Washington County, home of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, stuck with Sanders.
Hal Bass, professor emeritus of political science at Ouachita Baptist University, called Biden's victory "quite impressive."
"It clearly suggests that the Arkansas electorate is a better fit for someone in the moderate camp than someone in the more progressive camp," he said.
Biden was able to win despite having a bare-bones political operation in the state, Bass noted.
"It was done without much of anything in the way of advertising or campaigning," he said. "The Biden campaign was largely invisible in Arkansas, and yet the outcome was about as good as it gets."
Victory in March is unlikely to translate into victory in the state in November, however, Bass said.
"Biden would decidedly be an underdog in Arkansas. I don't think that this is going to be very firm soil for the Democratic nominee, whoever the nominee's going to be," he said.
Sarah Jo Reynolds, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas, downplayed the significance of Biden's victory, pointing to the outcome of Tuesday's Republican presidential primary.
"President [Donald] Trump got more votes than the Democratic presidential candidates got, combined," she said.
Facing token opposition, Trump received 237,347 votes -- 97.1% of the vote overall.
"We proved," Reynolds said, "that we are a red state."
Metro on 03/05/2020