Former United States vice president Joe Biden inched towards Democratic Party's presidential nomination as the septuagenarian secured victories in the primaries held in three major states, including the key battleground Michigan, taking a substantial lead against his main rival Senator Bernie Sanders.
By late Tuesday night, he had 788 pledged delegates in his kitty as he won in the states of Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri as against 633 pledged delegates for Sanders.
Biden, 77, and Sanders, 78, are only the two major Democratic presidential candidates left in the race now.
Biden's win in Michigan is crucial as Sanders had clinched the victory in the state defeating Hillary Clinton four years ago.
Either of the candidates need at least 1,991 of the 3,979 pledged delegates to win the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.
During his speech in Pennsylvania, Biden said that democracy is at stake in this election and the country cannot afford to have another four years of President Donald Trump who is seeking his second term in the November elections.
“Winning means not only having a president who knows how to fight but how to heal,” he said.
"I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion. We share a common goal. And together, we will defeat Donald Trump," Biden said.
Confident of winning the party's presidential nomination, Biden said, "tonight we are a step closer to restoring decency, dignity and honour to the White House."
“We need presidential leadership that is honest, trusted, truthful and steady,” he said.
Biden said that Donald Trump's America First policy has made America alone.
"To all those who have been knocked down, to all those who've been counted out... this is your campaign," he told his supporters.
"Although there's a way to go, it looks like we're going to have a very good night,” he added.
Meanwhile, Brad Parscale, Trump's 2020 campaign manager in a statement said, the Democrat candidate for president will be running on a big government socialist agenda regardless of the name on the ballot.
“It is also clear that the Democrat establishment has rallied around the confused Joe Biden in an effort to deny the nomination to Bernie Sanders. Either way, President Trump is on an unstoppable drive toward re-election,” he said.
