Biden wins Wisconsin primary

With about two-thirds of precincts reporting, Biden had 63.9% of the vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who dropped out of the race last week and endorsed Biden earlier Monday, had 30.8%. Although Sanders, I-Vt., has said he would stay on the ballot for the rest of the primary contests, Wisconsin's primary marks the last time ballots will be cast in a race that includes more than one candidate campaigning for the nomination.

Biden, who had called for the election to be conducted only with mail-in ballots because of the virus, said on Twitter that Wisconsinites had shown "courage and commitment" by coming out to vote. "But it should never have come to that," he added. "No one should ever have to choose between their health and our democracy."

Biden's victory further demonstrates the strength of his candidacy in key battleground states ahead of a general election matchup with President Donald Trump. In 2016, Sanders handily defeated Hillary Clinton in the Wisconsin primary, winning nearly 57% of the vote. Last month, Biden won the Michigan primary, another contest Sanders won in 2016, by more than 16 points.

Beyond the presidential primary, voters were closely watching the race for a state Supreme Court seat, where Daniel Kelly, a conservative incumbent justice who was endorsed by Trump, was defeated by a liberal challenger, Jill Karofsky. She will serve on the court as it decides on a Republican push to purge more than 200,000 people from voter rolls before the November election in a state Trump won by 0.77% in 2016.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Karofsky's victory came despite Republican attempts at "voter suppression" during a public health emergency. The result, Perez said, "speaks to Democrats' incredible enthusiasm advantage and should terrify Donald Trump and every other Wisconsin Republican."

Wisconsin's election, held April 7, has been mired in partisan acrimony. Democrats sought to postpone the vote because of the virus, and public health officials warned against public gatherings urged all residents to stay in their homes. But Republicans in the Legislature and the courts ordered the vote to proceed, blocking the governor's order for a delay.

The release of the results was delayed until Monday afternoon by a court order in a dispute over absentee ballots.

On Election Day, many polling stations were closed because of staffing shortages as workers stayed home, requiring voters to wait in hours-long lines. In Milwaukee, for example, only five of the roughly 180 poll locations were open.

Many states have postponed their upcoming presidential primaries as stay-home orders remain in place across most of the country. In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, ordered the state's June 2 primary to be conducted mostly by mail with limited in-person voting.

Senate Democrats have been calling for money to expand vote-by-mail capabilities before the November general election and want to see increased absentee voting options. But Republicans, including Trump, have pushed back with unsubstantiated claims about fraud.

"Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting," Trump tweeted last week. "Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn't work out well for Republicans."